


Dreamt

by olliya



Series: Dreamt [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Consent Issues, Drama, F/M, Fix-It, Redemption, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-23 13:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17080892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olliya/pseuds/olliya
Summary: What happens when you dream and you cannot wake up? When days and weeks and months pass in the dream? When the dreamt starts feeling more real than the awake? And Sakura dreams about Uchiha Madara, when Fourth Shinobi War rages on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Revised version, originally published on fanfiction.net. Beta-read by La Moonlight Lily.

Sakura dreamed of a battlefield, dense with fighters surrounding her, and of a man standing apart, watching.

Then she dreamed of this man fighting, carnage around him. It kept alternating – her being a watcher from a distance, separated from it all, and her participating in the battle. And whenever she dreamed, that man was there.

One night as Sakura watched him fight, he turned abruptly and gazed at her. Sharingan spinning, he saw her.

The next night when she was fighting, as she turned to place another blow, she suddenly saw the man at an arm's length.

"Who are you? Identify yourself," he demanded.

She woke up, covered in sweat.

* * *

She went to talk to Ino about. Ino took it lightly, put blame on the combination of war traumas and Sasuke being back in the camp.

"Isn't that man Sasuke, by any chance?" Ino presumed.

"No, for sure not!" protested Sakura.

"From how you describe him, he seems kind of familiar" teased Ino further.

"Not at all! I've never seen someone like that, I don't even know how I can dream of such a thing!"

"What do you mean…?"

"The way he fights – his every move has a purpose. As if he had a hundred years of experience…"

"You sure watch him carefully enough," Ino laughed. "I bet he's handsome, that's why! Is he, is he?"

Sakura shut her mouth firmly. Ino was so not getting the point!

"Oh, he is! Even more good-looking than Sasuke?"

"Ino, I'm upset and you are not helping! These dreams make me scared. I don't want to have them anymore!"

In the end Ino invited her to sleep over and the dream did not come that night.

* * *

But the next night, Sakura returned to the battlefield, and there he was again in the midst of the fight. Suddenly, instead of being a spectator, Sakura was in it, had to block and dodge the blows to keep herself alive. The man jumped towards her. For a brief instant she thought he would strike. There was battle fever in his eyes, his face was covered with blood, clearly not his own. He moved behind her though, their backs touching. He was covering her back! Coming blows she parried instinctively.

Next night she was right there, arm to arm with the man. He adjusted his fighting style to hers.

"Who are you? Why are you in my dreams?" he demanded. His voice was calm but somehow did not invite much of a discussion.

"Why are you in mine?" Sakura blurted out, not one to be ordered around in her own dream.

"It is my dream and you are being a hindrance in my fight's enjoyment."

"Doesn't seem like it to me! You're voluntarily covering my back. Besides – I am covering yours…"

"And this is supposed to be an advantage?"

Sakura flinched. Suddenly his clone was in front of her, pressing the tip of the sword to her vital point. A vital point aligned directly with a vital point of the original leaning against her back.

"So how is it an advantage having someone so weak guarding my back? Anyone could pierce right through you to get me."

Sakura stopped moving. He got her. Quite in a different way than he intended though… Karin's face, so hopeful, looking at Sasuke to free her from Danzo's grasp was in front of her eyes, filling up whole of her vision. And this dreadful moment when Sasuke, her beloved Sasuke, Karin's beloved Sasuke, simply pierced through her... Sasuke tried to kill her, more than once, but somehow it was this incident that haunted her most.

The clone before her halted. She kept staring at the ground, shoulders pathetically low.

"Hey, what is with you?" the clone asked.

She almost didn't hear him.

"Hey!" The man apparently didn't like being ignored. He grabbed her arm and shook her. "Come on, don't ruin the fun. I was just teasing you."

Silence.

"Have you seen something like that? Did it happen to you?"

Sakura looked up. It was Karin's face that was before her eyes, not the black-haired man's. "I've seen someone important to me pierce through his team-mate to get to the enemy."

"And did he succeed?" The man was mildly interested. No answer. "Was this person an Uchiha by any chance?"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

"Well then, I would advise you to choose your important people more wisely…"

* * *

Sakura woke up. Crying.

That her own dream would berate her like this. "Choose you important people more wisely." As much as she hated the thought, it was true – it would be prudent to choose more wisely…

Since Sasuke joined the Allied Forces a couple of weeks ago, he hung around only with Naruto and almost never spoke a word. He was so endlessly distant, as if walking behind some glass curtain.

Sakura thought about Karin again. She had it worse. As much as Sakura didn't want to admit it, Karin loved Sasuke as much as she did and was probably closer to him by now. And actually did receive a fatal blow.

A couple of days ago she almost stepped onto Karin, crouched somewhere on the outskirts of the camp crying hysterically, almost howling, but so silently as if she was choking herself. Sakura knelt next to her, tried to calm her down, get her to speak. What came out was a half incoherent story of Sasuke coming to heal his injuries. Sakura felt a pang of jealousy.

"I always loved it," Karin had said, "it was painful, it has to be, this is the thing about my jutsu. But with him it was wonderful as well… But this time… it was…" Karin didn't finish. Because she vomited.

Yes, Sakura was better off. She had her family, her friends, her village. She had possibilities, other possibilities. Like those she always heard about: "You should get yourself some nice guy. Someone that will appreciate you the way you deserve it". She cringed internally. No nice guys. No thanks, no decent, nice guys. If she is ever to "get herself a guy" he will have presence enough to make her go crazy about him. It is not like there are no other powerful, charismatic shinobi other than Sasuke and Naruto. Sure there are. And she can fall head over heels about someone again, given he is impressive enough. She can, right? Right…?

* * *

Next night she was back on the battlefield, right next to black-haired man. They were slicing the enemies coming from every side, endlessly.

"So. Now you will explain me who or what you are." The black-haired man's voice was casual but very unpleasant in the same time.

"What?! What?! I'm a person, don't you what me here!" Sakura was abashed. Insulted by a dream…

"That is not so certain. You might indeed be a jutsu-caster that appeared into my mind. But you can be only a form that he chose for his jutsu. A puppet, if you will."

Sakura was speechless.

"I am aware of a clan capable of entering a conscious mind. I have never heard of a technique that could accomplish it in a dream. Even more the reason to use it against me, though," he continued.

Sakura regained her speech.

"Just screw you. I will not tolerate insults in my own dream." She jumped to get away from the man. She would wait out until she wakes up somewhere else on the battlefield, pummelling some poor buggers to the pulp. Yes, this sounded like a fine plan.

Only in the middle of the jump, she hit something in mid-air and fell painfully on the ground. The obstacle was a semi-translucent blue wall. She looked around – the blue wall was surrounding them. Above her head were oblong, curved shapes that looked like… ribs of some giant… Susano'o. She was inside a Susano'o!

"I'd rather that you stay until we exhaust the topic."

She pointed her fist to the wall, punched it. It didn't even budge.

"Release it!" She screamed. "Release this idiotic, show-offy Susano'o and let me go!"

The man raised his eyebrow. Did she say too much? And then, she was pulled up as Susano'o started into the sky. Sakura felt like her stomach stayed somewhere at the level of her knees as they kept climbing up and up. The battlefield was blue and getting smaller very quickly.

She turned to the Uchiha. He stood there very calmly, almost disinterested, with his arms crossed on the chest. She saw chakra flowing from him to the Susano'o. Chakra from his Mangekyō eyes. But he didn't seem weakened as Sasuke always was. Nor were his eyes bleeding.

He noticed her gaze. She felt compelled to say something.

"Your eyes - there is no strain on them... How...? Is it because it is a dream?"

"This is the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Superior to any other. There is no jutsu that would put strain on me." He sounded all haughty and self-possessed.

But this did not matter. Because in that moment, everything clicked. Finally, the pieces came together: Sharingan, old-fashioned armor, the face that seemed so vaguely familiar. Apparently, the sculptor in the Valley of the End did a decent job. Uchiha Madara in his full battle glory was in front of her. Uchiha Madara with whom they were at war just right now. Trapping her in Susano'o and about to interrogate her.

She backed off, touched the wall of Susano'o's with her behind. She kept pushing against it with all her force, trying to get away as far as possible, to get away, to get out.

"Let me out. Let me out! LET ME OUT!

"What happened to you all of the sudden?"

"LET ME OUT!" This was not helping. Hysterically screaming in the presence of a world-destroyer wannabe was not going to do her much good. Plus, she was plummeting deeper and deeper into panic. She needed to get herself under a grip. "Breath, remember breathing" Sakura reminded herself. One needed this breathing business to stay alive.

"Hn..? If you're done making noise, then answer the question."

Sakura swallowed.

"I've just realized who you are."

"Would be a proper reaction if you really didn't know beforehand. But you were surely briefed very carefully before your mission, jutsu-caster."

"I am not..."

She couldn't finish because Susano'o suddenly plunged. They were landing in the middle of a yard of an old-fashioned mansion. Actually, a whole complex of mansions.

Several meters above the ground, Susano'o disappeared. Madara flipped in mid-air and landed in a crouch on the porch. He immediately assumed a nonchalant sitting pose, one leg hanging, the other bent and his head propped on his palm. A chill went down her spine - he looked like a cat sitting in his favorite spot for hours. Observing the prey. She never liked cats.

Sakura looked around. Quickly localizing the gate, she bolted towards it.

"As I said before, I'd rather have you stay. I don't need to describe all the ways in which I could immobilize you, I suppose?"

He didn't. Sakura had enough imagination.

"So, jutsu-caster, will you finally introduce yourself? No? No great need, I know enough. Judging from your dress you could be from either Suna or Konoha, but the kunai type you use narrows it down. The crest on your back doesn't tell me a thing, but how could it? The Senju adopted all kinds of petty clans into the village. Clan of Thousand Hands... Clan of Mongrels they should rather call themselves. Your chakra control and keen interest in the status of my eyes point to a med-nin. Which makes it puzzling, because why would they risk a medic on such a mission?"

A pause and a piercing look. Sakura wondered what would come next.

"Furthermore, unhappily in love with an Uchiha that happens to be an exquisite bastard," he finished with a laughter.

With every word, Sakura felt her heart sinking deeper. How could he deduce so much about her so quickly and so accurately? She felt naked and humiliated. Like an open book and he was turning the pages.

"That seal... Counting the generations down, you can be either Mito's great-granddaughter or great-great-granddaughter..."

Sakura smirked internally. Finally he got something wrong. Apparently, the smirk was visible from the outside though, because Madara laughed again.

"Oh, I got it wrong. But not entirely wrong." He narrowed his eyes. "Not blood-related... But certainly somehow connected... An apprentice to Uzumaki Mito's female descendant, perhaps?"

Sakura's face was pure terror.

"So, let's recapitulate: Konoha med-nin trained by Hashirama's kin, running after a traitorous Uchiha. Now that we know each other so well, all that is missing is a name..."

Sakura wanted to hide.

"YOUR NAME." Even the mockery of friendliness was gone from his voice.

"Haruno Sakura."

"So, as we have it cleared, Sakura, go and tell your superiors that you have failed... in whatever you've actually been doing... But since it probably is the last time we see each other, how about a small spar? My Taijutsu against all you have there, Yin seal and all..."

He jumped into the courtyard.

"It will be fun, I promise."

Sakura fell into a defensive stance. As he charged, she thought how rarely she spoke with her parents recently, and when was the last time she told them she loved them...

She woke up screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura decided to tell her Shishou about the dreams. Tsunade was very busy and though she paid some attention to her story, she didn't seem concerned.

"Sakura, it is the first war for you… And it is apparently how your mind reacts to stress. Sure, you dream of enemy. And sure, you visualize him as he was captured in the sculpture – you have to give a face to the man behind the mask. It is only stress, don't make it worse by obsessing about it."

Sakura dreaded next night. Ino was no longer an option. She wandered aimlessly around the camp. Finally, tired and fed up with everything, she decided to take a chance sleeping.

* * *

And landed in the same yard of the same mansion. Uchiha Madara wasn't there. She turned around, tense, conscious of every sound. Turned more. And he was there, standing on the veranda. She didn't hear nor sense him coming, as much as she tried.

He seemed genuinely surprised.

"What are you doing here, jutsu-caster? You failed your mission already. Or do you bring me a message from your Hokage?"

"I didn't fail any mission because there was no mission! I am just a girl who's dreaming. All these things you said about me are true and there is nothing more. I don't want to dream this! I don't want to be here!" She was screaming out all her frustration and anxiety now. "When I told the Hokage about it she only diagnosed me with war stress! See, I am just a girl who is going crazy! Just that! And apart from it everything is just fine…" She choked on tears.

Madara was watching her with mild disgust. To be so emotional; unacceptable for a ninja. A mortal handicap, even if her skills were not entirely mediocre. Contemptible. But if she was so convinced she was going crazy, what did that mean about him?

"So, if you are here anyway, how about a spar? I am getting bored…"

A spar. With the legendary Uchiha Madara. One on one. In her current state. Sure, great, why not?

Actually, why not? Not that she had anything to lose at this point. At least she would have something else to focus on than her progressing madness. And maybe she would wake up again? Plus, he was probably going to attack any second anyhow.

Sakura braced herself.

"Why not?" She lifted her chin, rubbed her eyes dry and took the kunai into her right hand. Normally, she would go with chakra-increased punches but somehow, having a blade in grip was giving her an -undoubtedly false- sense of security.

She didn't wake up. And it wasn't fun.

Kunai in hand or not, Yin seal or not, it was all useless. She was pushed into such an extremely defensive stance that she almost had to defy the gravity to dodge his strikes. She failed to dodge quite a few already and felt that certain muscles wouldn't act properly anymore from the blunt trauma. Each time he landed a hit though, he would pause and wait until she collected herself. And Sakura was sure that the blows carried only the smallest fraction of his real strength. As if he was making it last longer. She was sure he could break her neck with just a kick anytime he wanted. But no, he was prolonging it.

Sakura started seeing black spots in front of her eyes. She was getting slower and slower, more hits were landing on her and soon she was fighting to even stand straight on shaking legs. As her strength waned, panic started to rise again.

"It is enough for you."

It felt like brushing shoulders with death itself when he passed by her. She still stood there in the middle of the yard where she stopped. Wide-eyed, cold sweat drenching her vest, afraid to even turn. The kunai fell out of her hand. Her fingers were so cramped that she couldn't straighten them back. He was somewhere behind and she was afraid to turn. She was cold, so cold. _'Get yourself together, Sakura. If he wanted, he would have hurt you already.'_

He was sitting in his previous spot, propped against the pillar. She couldn't stand there any longer simply because she would collapse. If she went to the opposite side of the yard, she would have the said yard between them. But it would be… confrontational…? And a yard of distance wasn't even a mental comfort. So she walked towards the porch Madara was sitting on, slowly climbed up and sat couple of meters away from him. He didn't seem very interested, was staring forward, deep in thought.

So Sakura sat and waited to wake up. The sun was moving on the sky and it was the only thing that was moving at all. Her fear was subsiding simply because absolutely nothing was happening. Madara had barely made a move since their spar. What was rising in Sakura was a creeping anxiety. It was so long already and she was not waking up. She focused her chakra and tried a genjutsu-dispelling method. And then tried again, stronger. And again.

"Don't bother." Sakura looked at him with surprise at the sudden breaking of silence. "I tried already. And it is not a genjutsu."

So she stopped trying. Her chakra level was dangerously low. It was hard to sit straight, hard not to shake out of exhaustion. Hard not to cry. Sakura felt as if hours had passed until she gathered courage to speak up.

"Is it really a dream, then?"

"It would seem so." It took him a moment to answer her. Apparently, he was even not registering her presence fully.

"Do you know what to do to wake up?"

There was no expression on his face. So empty.

"Maybe you'll wake up if I kill you?"

Sakura's mind went as blank as his look was. Instinctively, she tried to get away, crawl back, but instead of materializing his threat Madara just turned his head and continued ignoring her.

Sakura listened to her heart be forced into a frantic pace. She could hear the blood rushing through arteries somewhere behind her ears. But it was all slowing down. She was getting cold again. Cold and very tired. She carefully moved towards the wall and leaned against it.

The sun was setting. _'When it is gone, then it will be just the two of us…'_ She wanted to wake up so much.

Suddenly her stomach made a noise. And another one. _'Did he hear? Maybe he didn't…'_

"One yard further," he gestured to the left, "there are kitchens."

Sakura stared in shock. It was so out of sync with this whole situation that it really had to be a dream. Something so absurd could only be dreamt.

"Uhm… Thank you…" she managed and stood up. Could one be walking freely in someone else's dream?

Nevertheless, she found the kitchen quickly enough. It was very large and very empty. Browsing through it, she almost lost hope to find something to eat until she came across a large container with boiled rice. She threw herself at it, grabbed a handful and shoved it into her mouth. It wasn't even seasoned but it didn't matter. She swallowed without chewing and almost retched. Clearly the stress she was under was not letting her eat.

Sakura gathered herself together. There was no objective threat right now, except for her rapidly diminishing chakra reserves. She needed to calm down, eat something and she would feel better. She looked around again. Put some rice into a bowl, added salt that she had found before. Formed a riceball, wrapped nori around it. Rolled another one. There: some semblance of normality. _'It is a dream. It doesn't have to be a nightmare.'_ She didn't need to freak out.

She nibbled at her onigiri, rocking at her feet until a thought stopped her mid-motion.

Without a word, she put the riceballs within Madara's arm reach. He was surprised and didn't make an effort to hide it. Nevertheless, he ate without a comment. They had to share a waterskin – the only container Sakura found despite a long search. It was dark already and there was no moon. A starry night sky might have been beautiful in other circumstances, but for Sakura it was only gloomy.

Madara stood up and started towards one of courtyard exits. Halfway, he turned.

"Are you coming?"

She hurried to him. Out of the two options, she preferred not to stay here alone.

They passed many courtyards similar to one another, all dark and empty. Despite all her effort, Sakura lost orientation. Finally, Madara stopped.

"You can sleep here."

It made no sense to be blocked by fear, she had to cope with his presence somehow. And that could be an important clue…

"Why do you know this place?"

"I lived here."

"You brought us here in Susano'o, you knew how to find the way…"

"I just recognized the location of the battle." She must have had a very expectant look on her face because he added, "I also know there is a river two hours west from here, for example… It is old Uchiha territory."

He paused. "But I didn't bring us into the dream. And no, I don't know how to get out."

Sakura hung her head down. She was lost.

"Sleep. You look like a beaten dog. You are a pain to the eyes."

Was there a softer tone in this insult, or did she just imagined it?

Sakura entered into something that was another building with a central yard, opened the first sliding door and threw herself onto the tatami mat. Even though it was uncomfortably hard, she fell asleep within seconds.

* * *

Sleeping was so good… It was a long, black, dreamless sleep, but when Sakura woke up the memories pierced her brain even before she opened the eyes. Yesterday she couldn't get out of this Uchiha Madara-dream. What would she wake up into now? With a heartbeat of two hundred, she opened her eyes and moaned. The ceiling was an unfamiliar one and it definitely wasn't a camp tent. All sleepiness escaped her immediately and she was already on her feet. She was in that compound part where Madara had led her yesterday. But he was nowhere to be seen. Was he even still around or was she here alone? Out of the two alternatives, surprisingly to herself, Sakura concluded she preferred company. Even if it was that of Uchiha Madara.

She set out trying to trace their steps back to the yard they sparred on. But the compound was huge and all the yards so similar. Finally, she found the correct one – traces of their fight were still visible on the sand. But he was not there. An ugly anxiety started to creep up in Sakura's mind. Maybe he woke up? Found out how to and left her behind?

She ran into the next courtyard and the next one and the next one. Growing more panicked with each one. She stormed into the fourth yard and had to put whole her strength into extinguishing her momentum. Because he was right there – sitting by the pond and looking intensely into water.

He laughed when he saw her.

It was obvious she was running looking for him. Sakura felt utterly ashamed. But then no need to pretend, he was laughing at her expense already.

"I thought you woke up…"

"And are you glad that I didn't?"

Sakura bit her lip. She didn't want to answer this. Would he spare her from saying it aloud? Instead of answering, she approached the pond. Ah, there were fish inside… Such large, white-and-orange, slowly moving fish. She knelt by the edge looking at gentle, calm motions.

Today, with a clearer mind, Sakura tried assessing her situation. There must be a way to get out, something she or they must do… Wait!

"Did you sleep last night?"

Madara gave her a look that could only mean: 'Mind your own business.'

"Because maybe we both have to fall asleep at the same time?"

"Maybe," he said after a long pause.

So Sasuke was not an exception among the Uchiha when it came to conversational skills…

So again they sat there. At some point Sakura got hungry, brought some rice. There was nothing to do except think. She tried thinking about something nice, but all that was coming to her mind were images of war raging in the real world.

"Do you want to spar again?" Apparently Madara was also bored.

"I… I don't know…" That spar was one of scariest moments in her life. But refusal might piss him off. "OK," she finished reluctantly.

It went the same direction as the previous one – Sakura frantically avoiding being hit, burning her chakra down in the process, until Madara halted.

"You are not attacking."

"I know I have no chance connecting a hit…"

"Your tactic is suicidal in one-to-one combat. I will run you down sooner or later, even with conventional Taijutsu."

He was right. Avoiding worked when she was part of a team.

"I know…"

"Well, then…?"

"I am too afraid." Sakura bit her lip. His presence had a paralyzing effect on her, especially after yesterday. She just couldn't force herself to voluntarily get near to him, even if only to deliver a blow.

"You're such a child. Have you never fought against a stronger opponent?"

"I did! And I won!" Sakura's wounded pride raised itself for a moment. "It's just that you…"

Madara raised his eyebrow.

"…are different. You are too scary…"

Well, at least she was putting him in good mood, judging from amount of laughter she could evoke. Sakura reddened in embarrassment. Normally her temper would lash out already, but now…

"I will give you another handicap – I'll close my eyes."

Surprisingly, it helped. Not that his attacks became less deadly. Rather, because she relaxed a bit. Only that Sakura didn't know what did the job: whether it was him closing his eyes, or talking with her. Because with every exchanged sentence, he was getting more human. And all was getting easier.


	3. Chapter 3

As the next day came and they were still stuck in the Uchiha compound, Sakura started to get a bit of cabin fever. She wanted to walk around, but was anxious about how it would sit with Madara. In the end, it was his home she wanted to sneak around in…

"Can I go around a bit?" He gave her a heavy look from above the koi pond. "Or can we go together, maybe…?" Not that she wanted to, but if that was the only option… Plus, he knew the place.

"Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know, nowhere specific… I just need to get some orientation here."

So they walked through the yards and from time to time, Madara would explain the purpose of a building or point out certain rooms. When he mentioned the library, Sakura inadvertently turned in place as if dragged towards it.

There were shelves and shelves full of scrolls. Looking at the titles, she didn't even know where to start. It was all so interesting.

When she was strolling slowly along the books, Madara was deliberately looking in one corner of the room until he picked couple of scrolls for himself. She picked up so many that they kept falling on the floor when she tried to transport them. Madara took pity and relieved her from half of her burden. Having more capacity, Sakura immediately glimpsed towards the shelves, considering which scrolls to take in addition, only to be stopped by Madara's grim look.

They came back to koi-yard and Sakura was no longer bored. Scrolls kept her happy and occupied for the next couple of days. Since there seemed to be absolutely no chairs in the compound, she dragged several bamboo mats to the pond to lie down and read.

Madara would sometimes come and peek at what she was reading. Once or twice, it interested him enough to sit down and read from behind her shoulder. At first, she felt very uneasy, but quickly it became normal. It encouraged her to ask for explanations when she didn't understand something or wasn't able to read the old script. In the beginning he was surprised, but then he explained exhaustively and in a rather captivating way. It was mostly political context that Sakura failed to grasp in some older history scrolls, and then explanations would develop into stories. In some ways, it was more interesting than the scrolls themselves. Sakura started to ask for comments even when she didn't need explaining anymore. Slowly, these would become conversations.

Sakura was shuttling regularly between koi-yard and the library. From one visit, she came back with scrolls about some complex jutsu. When Madara saw what she brought, he right away started browsing through them himself and basically took them away from her.

"Could I have half of them, at least? I kind of brought them cause I wanted to read them…" Sakura was a bit taken aback.

"Sorry..." He pushed them back towards her. "These were our studying scrolls, back then when we were kids… I almost forgot how they looked like…"

Sakura had to laugh. It was so funny to imagine Madara as a child. And so cute how he wanted to see his old books.

"Did you have school here?"

"School? No… There were no schools."

Sakura laughed. "You were slacking around the whole day?"

"No. We went to war early. We were taught to read and write somewhere in the meantime and then, well, it was mostly fighting anyhow. Our father would go through different tactics and strategies with us. But it was more battle preparations than learning. These -" he gestured at the scrolls, "were for training new jutsus before a battle."

Sakura felt a pang in her chest. Right, back then things were very different. No cute pictures of Madara as a child, how naïve of her to think it. She couldn't even comprehend how a six-year-old felt on the battlefield. A six-year-old? Or seven? Or five? How early was early, exactly? She was twelve during their encounter with Zabuza, and even that was far too early for her.

"We had a Ninja Academy in Konoha, you know…? We would enrol at seven; these kids that wanted to become ninja. And then we had classes and trainings. We had the same teacher for five whole years, Iruka-sensei – we liked him so much. I always thought other classes didn't have that much luck as we had with our tutor. And then we would graduate and be divided into 3-man teams with our classmates…" She paused. This clutching feeling in her chest, it was still there. "You didn't have choice, did you?"

"I didn't need a choice."

* * *

They developed some form of a routine. They would spar once or twice a day (Madara could keep his eyes opened by then without influencing Sakura's performance too much) and then spent rest of the time reading, or in Madara's case, mostly watching koi. Sakura wondered how long one could possibly watch fish. But she suspected it weren't the fish that he was watching, but rather things in his head.

They ate together – Sakura even cooked couple of times when she grew fed up with plain rice.

The spars became fun indeed. For Madara it was a challenge as well: to deliver blows as quickly as he could while still keeping control over the strike, so that he could halt it in a case the hit would reach her. It needed lots of concentration and strength as well – to be ready to extinguish the momentum at any moment.

Sakura would go for Taijutsu as well combined with her chakra-enhanced strength. She abstained from her usual technique of punching the ground though. She didn't want to destroy their training ground. It wouldn't sit well with Madara – he clearly liked that mansion very much.

She stopped being afraid of getting hurt – Madara was always able to halt his strikes. She got the taste of his real strength only once. She went for a dirty trick, grasped a handful of sand to throw it into his eyes from a close distance. Dirty trick, but it worked. Worked in making him actually angry.

The kick that she received sent her flying long enough to diagnose herself already in the air with two broken ribs. And a third one fractured. Despite the pain, she managed to land crouched in defensive pose and immediately started healing. But truth being told if it was a real fight, she wouldn't be capable of efficient defence. One of the ribs was scratching the lung already and any violent move would cause a puncture. They called it a day.

Later, she received a stunning comment.

"Well, I have to admit, you are indeed a master of healing arts. If someone landed a blow like this on me, if someone managed to wound me like this… I would get incapacitated."

This was hugely unexpected. Uchiha Madara admitting - voluntarily pointing out her superiority in something. She wondered if Sasuke would ever be able to spit something like that out. Or maybe Madara was long past the urge to prove anything to anyone…

"I guess in your time the medical ninjutsu wasn't even discovered yet?"

"No… there were some clans with special regenerating abilities but otherwise, all we could treat were flesh wounds. The Uchiha could also deal with burns, but it comes with practice when using Katon techniques… The wounded were usually left where they had fallen. There was no time to collect them. And if you couldn't run, nothing could have been done for you anyhow…"

"And still there was so much fighting?! How didn't you just kill each other to the very last man?!"

"Hn… I guess we were replacing the fallen. Children went to war. And everyone had lots of children…"

"How many siblings did you have?" She knew only about Izuna.

"We were five. I was the second oldest, but not for long… My older brother was killed when I was eight. A bit later, the middle one and then the youngest. Until only Izuna and I were left."

She shouldn't have asked. It was not only insensitive, but brought the reason for Tsukuyomi to his mind as well. She wasn't mistaken.

"But such suffering doesn't have to happen anymore. I will end this."

"Much has changed already. Children are not sent to war anymore. They do C- and D-ranked missions."

"Just a matter of politics. It would take one major conflict with Iwa to have your Hokage sending them out again…"

"No, she wouldn't! She would find a different solution!"

"What can you even know about it?"

* * *

Sakura woke up. With each waking event she was quietly hoping for the reality, but still, she was in the compound. She wasn't even too surprised about it anymore. But this time though, it was middle of a night. The moon was shining straight into her face and she suspected that it was what woke her up on the first place. It was full and so bright that all the sleep had left her.

Then a thought came to her mind – why not use the situation to check some of her theories? Madara never answered her inquiries about his sleep patterns.

So, with her chakra quenched to zero, Sakura set towards the wing Madara usually slept in. She was sure that from a sensory point of view she was undetectable – she was too good of a medic to allow anything but total masking of chakra signature. The rest was basic shinobi skills – moving around without making a sound.

She didn't know exactly which room was Madara occupying. But there was one with the sliding door half-open so she decided to start from it. She leaned to peek inside, but she saw only darkness as her eyes needed some time to switch from the day-like brightness of the full moon. The first thing she realized was that the sliding screen to the other room had been moved. And that the futon was empty.

"What do you think you are doing?" Madara's voice sounded directly next to her ear.

Sakura spun and stumbled away. It turned out very undignified.

Madara was standing on the porch with his arms crossed over his chest and no expression on his face. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura took another small step back. In retrospect, maybe it wasn't such a great idea to come here. Now she had to wiggle out of the situation somehow. She decided that truth was the best way to go. "Ano… Remember, I've told you I had a theory? About falling asleep, or being asleep in the same time could get us out of here? I was trying to gather some data. Since I was awake and I thought you were asleep…"

"My opinion about you has just significantly dropped. You are more air-headed that I thought."

In other circumstances Sakura would have glared, but now she only let out a deep exhale. If he was offending her it meant he wasn't really angry, and it was already something. She managed to avert the worse. Because for a moment she felt back like during their initial encounters.

"Good that I detected you so early. If you succeeded in getting to me when I was asleep, and I would wake up only then, I could have killed you."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Why so sure?"

"You would recognize who I am in time."

"Certainly. But again: why are you so sure I wouldn't kill you?"

Sakura bit her lip. She should never forget who she was dealing with. She truly believed he would never hurt her at this point, but she'd better not push her luck.

Apparently considering the conversation finished, Madara sat down on the porch, face propped on his hand, looking at the sky. The moonshadow on the floor behind him was as sharp as made by the sun.

"If you are going to stand there, I will for sure not go to sleep," he said, not looking back towards her.

Sakura shifted from one leg to the other. "I cannot sleep anyhow. Not after you scared me like that."

"Should not have been sneaking."

Sakura couldn't find a valid retort. "Anyway, how did you notice me?" she decided to change the topic. "Have you heard me breathing?" She was sure she didn't make any noise, so her breath was the only thing that could have betrayed her, even though she tried her best to keep it silent.

"No. Your heartbeat."

* * *

Next morning Sakura decided to press the topic again.

"So, I was thinking... How is it that whenever I come here, you're here already? How does it work for you – do you arrive here each time you fall asleep?"

Madara didn't answer. As far as he knew, Obito was operating under his alias, so the common knowledge was that Uchiha Madara was alive and kicking. Not that he was a resurrected soul forcefully bound to a body locked in a coffin. He had no idea about the passage of time, and he could already foresee the next steps Sakura would propose: desynchronizing sleep patterns, being woken up after a certain time-lapse. The girl was smart, there was no doubt about it, and she was probably able to identify any slips that he would make, so it was better not to step onto uncertain ground. So all he said was an uncommitting "Hn."

"Can you pay attention next time? When exactly will you go to sleep and which one of us will be here first?"

Madara laughed.

"What's so funny?!"

"Do you imagine I will be giving you any form of information?"

"I am trying to get us out of here! And you're implying an ulterior motive! You're just…"

"I'm just realistic. You are an enemy kunoichi. Even if you are not here voluntarily – which I am at this point inclined to believe – you sure can make a good use out of any intel you gain here..."

Sakura pouted. "Ok, I will take that as a compliment, but we must cooperate to get out of it."

Madara shrugged. "So let's agree that I'd rather keep complimenting you."

"Be honest - you don't consider me that much of a threat. Don't you want to get out?"

"Not particularly."

Sakura's mouth fell. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Not at all. I like it here. It's the best place I know." And what would be the alternative? Awoke awareness inside the claustrophobic darkness of a coffin? Truly an impure world resurrection.

"But don't you have things to do in real life?! Don't you want to do things? You're leading a war for kami's sake! Not that I should be reminding you about it…"

"And why does it interfere? It's not like we are losing any time here – when we wake up it will only be the next morning, even if we spend weeks here." Not that he ever woke up, but from Sakura's record, he figured out that much.

"Aren't you bothered by being out of control?"

"I value it as a reminder that even I am not omnipotent, and I should tread accordingly. I am not a god. Yet."

* * *

"How beautiful! She's gliding through the air!" A dark brown bird was circling above the yard, catching wind under its wings, as if really enjoying recovered freedom. Madara released it from a sealing scroll just a few minutes earlier.

"It's a black kite. They use the wind even more than other birds of prey do." After many futile searches in the library, Madara finally found his summoning scrolls stuck in a locker in his old room. And now he was showing his birds to Sakura. Showing off a bit as well…

"She likes it! It makes me envious… Ah, to be a bird in the blue, blue sky…"

"Yes, this one is a pleasure to look at. Most graceful of them all, I suppose. A real dancer, this one is." He opened the scroll and made a sealing sign. The kite disappeared.

"Why did you do it?"

"I don't want them to stay outside for too long. Summoned, they age as well, and I don't want to lose them."

"But then you never really have them, they are never really alive." Madara shrugged and pulled out another scroll.

"Kaifū no Jutsu!"

A huge bird jolted with a scream from the paper, sending dust from the ground into their eyes.

"An eagle?"

"Aha." Madara was pulling the wraps of the gauntlet around his arm "Now, let's see if we still remember how to do it…"

He whistled. The bird turned and glided towards him. With outstretched claws, he landed, looked Madara in the eye and shrieked. Madara pushed him into the air again. The eagle was circling them close, round and round. A differently pitched whistle and the bird plunged down like lighting, claws pointing into Sakura's eyes. And then it all happened at once: yet another whiz, a soft blow of feathers in her face and the eagle flying up again.

Madara stretched his arm and the bird landed.

"Are you crazy?! What do you think you were doing?"

"Checking if he follows the commands." Madara was unmoved by her outcry.

"But what if it didn't stop? It would have torn my eyes out!"

"But it stopped. I had it under control."

"Really? Weren't you checking by chance?"

"If it didn't stop I would have vaporized it before it could reach you. There was enough time."

Sakura shook her head in incomprehension.

"Stretch out your arm."

Sakura looked at eagle's claws, uneasy. "I don't have a glove."

"It's only better – skin on skin. Don't worry, he won't hurt you." Reluctantly, she reached towards the bird. It skipped ungainly onto her arm. When it fastened the claws, Sakura held her breath, but its feet where so broad that the claws just went around her forearm like bracelets.

"He's quite heavy." Sakura laughed a bit nervously. "For a bird, I mean." The eagle skewed his head and looked at her with one eye. "Like liquid amber, so beautiful…"

"Now, throw him up!"

It gave her quite a kick when it took off. She was getting a bit dizzy from looking directly up where it circled… Suddenly she sucked her breath in. The air filled her lungs but still she felt like she was suffocating. The world looked so small… Below her… Until it was all gone a split second later. She looked at Madara in complete confusion. He smiled with approval.

"You got there, didn't you? How was it?'"

"What… was it?"

"You got inside him. It's a very special bird, an extremely rare one, a spirit-migration bird – one can enter his mind. Theoretically at least." The eagle landed back on his arm. "How was it?"

"… amazing…"

"That he accepted you so easily – he must have liked you at first sight. It took me months to break into him." He stroked its feathers. "He hates me, I know it. I tried breeding him, but always failed. As if he wouldn't let me get my hands on his offspring… He's my most precious one."

Sakura recovered from the elation of the flight. An ugly realization sprouted in her mind.

"And you were checking the compliance of this bird on using me as a target?! Are you really such a risky player or simply a sadist?"

"Are you implying I would fail to protect you from a _bird_?"

"I am not questioning your ability! I am questioning your priorities! Would you really sacrifice your super-important-soul-migrating bird for integrity of my face?! I don't think so…"

Madara grabbed her chin and held it firmly so she had to look directly at him.

"Whatever the stakes are, it would be the beauty of your face each and every time." His voice was dripping with mockery.

"Bastard," Sakura hissed pulling away. "It's so low, it's not even funny," she said louder.

"But I meant it…" Madara sounded all faked hurt innocence.

_'Like hell you did…'_ But she held her tongue and only glared.

* * *

They talked a lot. Well, Sakura talked, but Madara was a good listener. She told him about Ninja Academy, her apprenticeship by Tsunade, some medical issues that were currently on her mind. With time also about Ino, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. About Sasuke. At first only mentioning his name as a member of Team 7 and stopping short from deliberating further. She knew Madara could notice the change in her tone. Once she finally told, crying, the whole sad story, he was unsympathetic.

"Why does it bother you so much? Some ninjas go rogue. And some people get their heads messed up. There is probably nothing you can do for him at the moment, so why bother?"

"I love him. You recognized it correctly at the very beginning."

"And this is exactly what I don't understand. Now, with Tsukuyomi in progress it is pointless anyhow, but why didn't you have a prosperous marriage arranged? You have no clan to speak of, but as the Hokage's apprentice you could measure high. You're pretty enough as well. A son of a clan leader would not be out of your range."

"What? It's not like this… you have to love someone first and …"

"For what purpose, exactly? People join when they share a cause. You would have a common interest with your husband. He would provide you with protection, you would give him children…"

"One can really see you've been dead for a long time…"

"Look at yourself then. How does it serve you – miserably chasing after a boy who doesn't even … "

"STOP IT! Stop. I know that already…"

The silence was a long one.

"Why didn't you marry?" At least that wasn't known to her from history records. "Or did you?"

"When I assumed the leadership, it was an issue, but it was wiser to wait for the outcome of the Senju conflict. To make marriage alliances then. And then, when we formed Konoha and more things were going not according to my wishes, I didn't want to commit myself too much to the village. Later, when I realized the misery of all existence I was glad it never came to any children…"

"But was there a woman you liked?"

"No. We didn't see much of clan women anyhow. Marriages were arranged. In my case the first one would need to be a daughter of a head of some branch house or of leader of internal opposition. And then the next ones …"

"Next ones?!"

"Of course – with so many shinobis falling there were many more women than men. And clan women needed to keep giving birth…"

"This is awful."

"But why? The clan needed children. So it was common for a man to marry a wife of his dead brother, squad leaders married women of subordinates fallen under their command. As a clan head I was in a way responsible for all deaths, I could or should take responsibility for any of the women. So the next wives would just be to my liking…"

"But you never did… Does it mean that you never…" Sakura didn't manage to bite her tongue in time. Madara gave her an amused look. She so much shouldn't have asked this, but somehow it slipped. She was probably getting very red now.

"I would summon for women from the women's quarter when I felt like it…"

"Who were they?"

"No idea. Clan women of course. All beautiful, all Uchiha women are. Probably freshly widowed, many early pregnant, I could see it with Mangekyō. It made sense – they wouldn't send me a woman that I could get with child. A clan's heir on a random mother just wouldn't do.

* * *

"I keep dreaming about him…" Sakura blurted out. They - she, together with Ino - were sewing up the patients, each one their own. Sewing because the use of chakra had been restricted for life-saving interventions only. In the relative privacy of the operation tent, Sakura finally decided to share her burden.

She was mulling over the issue the whole day, as she woke to reality at last. And it was pissing her off beyond comprehension that, even awake, all her thoughts were circling around what she dreamt.

"About whom?"

"About Uchiha Madara! I've told you…" Sakura felt a tiny bit hurt about Ino forgetting her predicament.

Ino spared her a more careful look from behind her surgical table. "Is it that awful?"

"No, it's just so weird. As if he was there as well. Inside that dream."

Ino furrowed her brows. "Didn't you just say you dream about him?"

"Yeah…"

"Then why are you surprised he is there? If he is the topic of your dreams?"

"No, you don't get it! As if he is there! In person! And he knows I'm an enemy ninja and he wouldn't disclose any intel to me, and…" Sakura gestured frantically as words alone seemed to convey too weak of a message.

"Watch out for that poor bugger!" Ino nodded towards sedated shinobi in front of Sakura. "You were supposed to treat him not injure him even further…" She chided with a chuckle.

"Ino!"

"Just saying!" Ino raised her hands defensively. "It only makes sense that you dream of him like that, doesn't it? You keep him in character." She added looking Sakura in the eyes.

"He tells me stuff. Stuff I didn't know before, about the Warring States Era and Konoha foundations. Go on, ask me something!"

"I have no idea about this shit. You know I hated history classes."

"But I liked them! And those things I learned from him are new to me!"

"How do you know? You've gone through the whole freaking Konoha Library for shits and giggles. And half of it sleep-deprived and tripping on coffee mixed with soldier pills! How do you know that you didn't just read it somewhere, forgot about it and now you're remembering?" Ino's fingers were moving swiftly, creating perfect, neat stitches even as she was tearing Sakura's argument apart. She was almost finished with her patient while Sakura was not at all.

Sakura stomped. "Ino! Take me seriously!"

"I AM taking you seriously! I am actually really concerned about you right now."

Sakura blinked the tears of helplessness away. Ino took a deep breath and cut the thread. "Ok, I know one shouldn't be dragged in discussions with the crazy, but for you Forehead I'll make an exception. How about this: if he were the enemy, then why would he disclose any information to you? Even only historical? Or rather the correct question would be: why wouldn't he simply kill you right away?"

"I don't know… He says he likes my company…" Sakura said quietly, suddenly aware of how unconvincingly it sounded.

"See, it doesn't make much sense, does it?" Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura's middle and pulled her into a hug. "It is just some strange reaction of your mind to this whole awfulness around. I don't know how to help you, I can wake you up in the middle of the night if you really want to, but we both need sleep to regenerate our chakra reserves, and you know it. Even if I enter your mind I cannot MAKE you dream or not dream. I cannot govern your thoughts. Actually, I cannot even see your dreams – only your memories. Imagine all the mess it would create during interrogations – if we would be taking dreams for real events?!"

"But I remember those dreams. They are in my memory!"

Ino bit her fingernail. "I don't know... We can ask my dad if you want… But maybe, like, when this war is over? Honestly, now I really don't want to mess you up even further by taking residence in your head. It would be an awful strain for you. And for me. And it's not something I would do to a friend. I still feel bad about that time during Chunin Exams, you know?"

Sakura managed a small smile. "Then what should I do?"

"From what you tell me, those dreams aren't that bad, you get your nerd-streak fed with new trivia… They are not nightmares… Just bear with them, they are really of least concern when you think about the big picture. It's gonna be over soon, and you will go to the Konoha Library and search and FIND all this info you dreamt. Ok?"

Sakura nodded.

"And look at the bright side – while you sleep like a baby, I lie wide awake for half of the night, as I cannot forget those people bleeding out under my hands…" Finished Ino, falling serious.


	4. Chapter 4

"You're predictable."

Sakura stood on the training ground, hands propped on her knees, panting heavily.

"Your fighting style is too transparent, you never surprise me."

"That's because you're on an entirely different level." Sakura felt slightly offended.

"It has nothing to do with that. Sure, I would counter whatever you throw at me, but it could possibly distract me as well. In real battle unpredictability is the greatest asset."

"You'll get your unpredictable when you fight Naruto." She thought with malevolent satisfaction. But she really didn't like this critique. Especially because she knew he had a point. She tried harder, got out of her usual rhythm, alternated the speed of the blows.

"Still not good enough. Use some other ninjutsu, not only your strength enhancement."

That was the problem - she didn't have time to form seals. To get the time she would need to gain an upper hand, and that wasn't possible if he could predict, as he claimed, her every move. It was frustrating.

"Why do you even care?!"

"I'm helping you to develop?"

"Why bother? Not that I will need it anymore! You plan to put me to sleep in Tsukuyomi anyway. So what do you care? Stop bothering!"

After she stomped out of training ground, Sakura didn't see Madara for next two days. It seemed he wasn't looking for her company either.

When she finally came across him in the koi courtyard on the third day, he looked at her with more attention than usual. She couldn't say she was sorry, no way. She just said what she thought. And sure enough, he wouldn't say he was sorry either. Not that he had just changed his great Masterplan because she yelled at him. Sakura almost snorted at absurdity of the thought.

"Want to spar? Maybe I can surprise you this time." They couldn't keep avoiding each other. The sooner they got over it, the better.

A smile. A wide, cheerful smile from Uchiha Madara. Sakura wondered how many people had ever seen it.

"Sure."

She came prepared. If she couldn't form signs during the fight, then she must do it before. All her senbon were imbued with delicate genjutsu so they could warp the view along their trajectory. Not too much, not to become obvious, just enough for him to misjudge the position of her hand a bit. She had played the scenario in her head many times already during the last day. Of course, it all depended on him not recognizing the genjutsu, but as long as he didn't activate his Sharingan she had a chance. And Sakura suspected he will be expecting some in-your-face-scale ninjutsu.

Landing a full force punch on him was one of most satisfying moments of her life.

* * *

"Morning!" Sakura started and had to jump out of his way. Killing intent was radiating from Madara for meters. He didn't even look at her, only marched towards the training ground outside of compound. Sakura followed, keeping a reasonably safe distance. " _What the heck? Why is he so furious?"_

"Mokuton!" Madara created a huge tree stump and started to methodically punch and kick at it.

' _Is he trying to break it? Then it will take him quite some time…_ " First pieces of bark flew away. Bloodied. " _Kami, what is wrong…'_

Well, much was wrong. Madara had just learned that Nagato used up Rinne Tensei to resurrect fallen Konoha villagers and conveniently died right after. And the person wielding his own Rinnegan eye was Obito. Obito, who was much more difficult to manipulate and definitely not willing to commit suicide on Madara's behalf. That meant he was bound to this despicable Edo Tensei form and he could not become the Ten-tails Jinchuuriki. This was putting the whole plan in acute danger. Or, even worse - at Obito's mercy.

To add insult to injury, the reason why Nagato had miraculously reformed was none other but Konoha's Jinchuuriki brat. The same one that was the driving force behind the Ninja Alliance. The same one that was fuelling their ridiculous defiance against Tsukuyomi ideals. The same one whose voice he could hear speaking through Sakura's mouth.

Thud! The stump cracked a bit. ' _Why won't they all just understand! It is the only way._ '

Thud! Another crack, this time somewhere inside his hand. ' _And I cannot even convince one little girl to it. Even she cannot understand, despite of all the talk…_ ' Thud! ' _Why wouldn't she understand!_ '

"Madara, stop. This is just stupid." Sakura was trying to keep her voice very calm. Calm and rational, not to get dragged into his fury. "Whatever the problem is, this is not helping."

He turned.

"You're right, it's not helping." And when she thought she actually achieved something, he activated the Mangekyo, formed Susano'o and flew away.

"Where have you been?!" Sakura cried when Susano'o landed back, hours later. Madara looked like… like he would fall any moment. Was he burnt? He stunk of burnt flesh. "Where have you been and what did you do to yourself? Answer me, goddammit!"

"On that battlefield." He started walking towards the gate.

' _Still not collapsing? I guess I underestimated_.'

"The battle is still there?"

"Was."

"Was? Did you go and kill them all?" There were thousands of fighters there. "Why are you so burnt?"

"Got bored with manual work."

"And released Katon all around you? Not jumping away?" This was supposed to be a sarcasm, but his face expression told her she got it just right. "Is it that?" She gestured at his scorched arms in disbelief. "Your own fire?"

He didn't answer. Sakura felt her face being pulled in a grimace, the corners of her mouth going down. Felt tears gathering in her eyes. "Why would you do such a thing to yourself? On purpose?"

"So difficult to guess? I was angry."

"And now? Are you still angry?"

"Now I am tired. I'm going to sleep."

"No, you are not. You will stay here until I heal you."

He ignored and made a move to pass by her. Oh no. This one time she had the authority here. She stepped to block the way.

"Sit," she hissed. "Sit down, take the shirt off if it isn't melted into you already, and _don't move_."

A large part of it was already melted in, she had to cut the shirt to remove it. When she pulled the attached parts away, Sakura could tell it caused a lot of pain. ' _Hurts? Good... Moron. Moron. Fucking moron._ ' Thanks all the gods for Naruto and his brainless actions, for all the patience she had to learn. Because this one, she would swear on anything, this one was worse.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes and groaned in disappointment. It came to her reflexively, before she could think properly about it. She wanted to go and check on the cherry trees behind the training grounds. The previous evening, the buds were almost open and Sakura was sure today will be THE day. The trees around the Uchiha compound were beautiful, old enough to bloom into a pink storm, yet still young enough to be graceful in form. She expected hanami to be a view to behold.

Yet, she woke up to reality. No sakura trees in bloom today. Only one surgery after another until she collapses. And when she does, some people will die. ' _I wonder who it will be this time? At whom I will run out of chakra?_ ' Yesterday it was a young Kiri kunoichi. Very young. Sakura passed out and when she came to her senses again the girl was already dead.

' _Yet, I should be happy I'm here, right?_ ' The Kiri kunoichi had such beautiful hair, light blue in colour. Sakura doubted that she will ever forget it. She also doubted she will ever learn the girl's name.

* * *

"Did you have a summon?"

Madara raised his head. "Why asking about this all of the sudden?"

"Curious?"

"Or do you want to boast about your own?"

Was she really that transparent? She actually was really proud of the feat of summoning Katsuyu the previous day in the real world. She finally managed to summon her whole, full size. And she wanted to tell him this.

"So, what is your summon? Tell me if you want to so much."

Sakura bit her lip. Her elation was gone.

"Brag about what you're proud about… Go on girl, you wanted to say something," he added when she kept silent.

"Slugs. I can summon slugs."

"Congrats. A mark of fully-fledged ninja."

"Why do you do it?! You make everything sound so bleak, so unimportant. You make me see all in grey! Take joy away from every single thing!"

She expected something like: 'Because it is the reality' or 'Finally you see it correctly.' Instead Madara dropped his gaze to the ground.

"Do I?" He sounded almost sad. "I don't mean to. I like your joy."

Trying, this was definitely trying. So she had to try as well. Sakura took a deeper breath.

"Yesterday I managed to summon the chief slug. All of her because I could summon pieces, parts of her already. But never her full form, and she is huge. That's what I wanted to tell…"

"Congratulations." There was a smile in his eyes. And appreciation, and such a heartwarming lack of surprise. She smiled back.

"So, what about your summons? Are they hawks?"

"No."

"So, what is it then, tell…"

"The Kyuubi."

"Kyuubi? You mean you have an actual contract with Nine-tails? That you can summon him when you want to and he will follow your commands?!"

"Let's just say we are still discussing certain terms of this contract… But yes, I can summon him as you do with your slugs and he will obey. Only that he doesn't appreciate it much…"

Sakura couldn't wrap her head around it. The Kyuubi doesn't appreciate it much? Even to be in a presence of tailed beast that was displeased about something was lethal. And to summon it on purpose knowing it will make it furious? And to control it afterwards?

"Are you that confident or that mad?"

"I assure you, I am completely sane."

* * *

Sakura was sitting on a grassy slope, orchard behind her, and the compound in front of her. The flowers from the cherry trees had fallen off some time ago already, but now small flowers and herbs were forming a thick carpet on the ground. Sakura wiggled her fingers between the plants, she could almost feel them grow. She was watching Madara going through his katas on the training ground. When he finished, he climbed up and sat next to her.

"You know, that thing you said, about being here." Sakura decided to break the silence.

"What thing?"

"That you like being here…"

"What about it?"

"I like it as well." Sakura felt she was blushing a bit. "In comparison to reality, I mean!"

Madara arched his eyebrow. "Is it that bad out there?"

Sakura paused. 'Bad' was a bit of an understatement. Outside, her life was endless shifts at surgery table with chakra reserves close to zero, in a tent lacking supplies and people dying just because there too many wounded and too few doctors. But she shouldn't be describing the details to him.

"You don't need to tell me if it is hard for you." Madara helped her out. "I know what war is. Then, imagine being in a place like this not with me, but with your Sasuke. Wouldn't it be pure bliss?"

Sakura stretched out her legs. She was not in the mood for yet another Mugen Tsukuyomi discussion. "Clearly you don't know Sasuke," she said instead.

Madara chuckled. "That bad?"

"Let's say that at least you're somewhat better company".

* * *

Sakura was woken up by a horrid scream. Panicked, she opened her eyes to find herself in the Uchiha compound in the middle of the night. She could still hear the screaming. She had heard a similar sound only once, when a wounded shinobi had to be operated on without anaesthesia. It took three teams to hold him down.

She rushed towards the sound. It was coming from the wing where Madara usually slept. When she entered his room, she saw him sitting on his bed as if he had just woken up as well. He was silent but it was obvious from his erratic breathing and wild expression that it was him who was screaming a moment before. And he was definitely not ok.

"What happened?"

He didn't answer. His Mangekyo was activated but she didn't think he even registered her. He was bent over in half. Sakura knelt behind him, put her hands on his back – he wasn't injured but his chakra was completely disturbed. She had never seen chakra circulating so quickly. Sakura couldn't even imagine what would be the medical consequences of it. Healing him wouldn't help, there was nothing to heal. Yet. He had to calm down.

"Madara, it's ok, you are not hurt. Nothing happened. Did you dream?" Not reacting. "It was a dream, wasn't it? Just a dream." She clung to his back, put her arms around him. And her legs as well, as much as she could.

"It's ok, it's not real." Stupid thing to say in a dream, but maybe he won't notice the paradox. She put a hand to his skull – his brain was over-activated. That was not doing him any good, definitely not.

"Calm down, please, nothing happened." She moved more to his side, pulled him down so that his head was on her lap.

"Shh, it's ok, it's all fine." It was so strange how he didn't react at all these things she was doing and saying. He would normally never allow any of it, she wouldn't even think of trying. But now there was no reaction, as if he was still locked inside whatever he was experiencing in his head.

Sakura stroked his arm. "Madara, hey, do you hear me?" She stroked his cheek, bent to embrace him. "I'm here. Wake up. I'm here." She kept stroking him, his hair, his arm, kept talking to him. His chakra started to slow down, his breathing eased.

At some point Sakura thought that his eyes looked more sane. But she continued just because she felt they both might need some comfort. And somehow embracing him was making her also feel better. It was such a long time since she last hugged anyone.

After a few long minutes she was sure that he was fully conscious.

"Are you back?"

"… Yeah." Sakura stopped her hand mid-motion. Stroking an awake Madara was a bit too extreme for her taste.

"Did you dream?"

"Yes."

"What was it about?" She regretted it the moment she spoke. She shouldn't be reminding him, whatever it was.

"About my brothers." He was speaking with visible effort. "I saw then murdered by Tobirama, one by one. Izuna was the last one. Tobirama took his time butchering him… And I could only watch…"

Of course, she shouldn't have asked but now it was too late.

"Was that how it really happened?"

"No… Not at all… My youngest brother was killed by the Senju, two others by the Hyuuga. Izuna was wounded by Tobirama in the battle. Fatally, but we managed to get him to the compound before he died."

"And you still allied with the Senju to ground Konoha?" Sakura couldn't hide her disbelief. She'd heard about Izuna so many times already and she knew he was the central figure in Madara's life.

"Yes… I did…"

"Why? How come?"

"Too long of a story." Madara made a move as to sit up. She pressed hand to his chest, preventing him.

"Tell me." She knew she was too close, too deep in his personal space. But on the other hand she wanted to be close when he will be telling this – Sakura felt how important it would be.

"Tell me about it." She lay down on her back.

He remained lying, with his head on her lap. And he told her. About the warring clans period, constant fighting, losing his brothers. Meeting a stranger at the riverbank. Sharing a dream. Then the darker part followed – about betrayal and enmity towards his friend. And then about Izuna's death. Sakura was surprised how emotionlessly he was recalling it. ' _He'd probably told this story a thousand times to himself already. Touched it so many times in his heart that it has lost all color…'_ It made her very sad.

Madara kept telling – about Konoha's foundation, politics, Hokage's choice, growing antagonism between Uchiha and other citizens, between his clan and himself. About his realization about the Uchihas' future inside the village. About his leave and fight with Hashirama.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about everything that happened to you. It could have gone differently on so many occasions."

"It could have…"

"I wish it did." Sakura extended her hand. "I wish you had a happier life." In all consciousness she stroked his arm.

And then they were lying there in silence, staring at the ceiling. Only that Sakura was crying. Staring at the ceiling she was crying, tears flowing in endless streams over the pain that belonged to someone else.

When she woke up, she felt a weight on her belly. Alarmed, she opened her eyes to see Madara sleeping with his head and arm across her. She breathed out very carefully. It would be very embarrassing if he woke up now. For her to encourage such a compromising closeness. And for him to actually fall asleep on girl's lap. She wasn't sure if his Uchiha pride won't get wounded here. Or maybe he didn't care about such things anymore… Anyway, the only good way out of it was to fall asleep and wake up again when he was already gone. But in the meantime, Sakura couldn't stop staring. She never really dared to look at Madara too much. Of course, she knew very well what he looked like, but never had opportunity to catch an unguarded look. And he was … beautiful. Especially because when asleep he wasn't threatening or mean or intimidating. She almost wanted to stroke his cheek again, but that would definitely wake him up and he looked so calm and content… He looked … happy? What a pity it was that he was never so when he was awake.

When Sakura woke up for the second time, he was gone. What she didn't know was how minorly put off Madara was by the whole situation. She was so familiar that letting his guard down around her didn't bother him at all. She was like one of the clan women, she tried to comfort him and she succeeded in it. He thought about how loving her touch was and then when was the last time anyone touched him except during a fight…? When he shook hands with Hashirama?


	5. Chapter 5

One day, they went to the river. The water was freezing cold, but in full summer heat, it was exactly what Sakura needed. The whole thing was her idea, she wanted to go swimming. The river was fast and shallow, more a mountain stream than anything else, but by the steep stone face it formed a basin large enough to swim a bit.

So they did - Madara shirtless, Sakura in all her clothes because her self-confidence definitely didn't go that far. But apart from that, she felt surprisingly at ease. It was like playing after school a long time ago with her classmates. They were slipping on wet stones, shuddering at coldness of the water, climbing on the surface only to release the chakra from their feet and plunge down…

"Did you use to come here with your brothers?

"No." And when Sakura thought he wouldn't say anything more, he added. "With Hashirama."

Before she could process, Madara stepped on the water surface and pulled her up.

"Come, over there." And he started running up the rock face. It was high. When they reached the top, the river seemed rather far away. Madara stretched out his arms.

'"When I was a kid I never dared to jump from here."

He picked up the momentum and plunged head down. Sakura almost screamed. But the parabola he flew was very clean and he resurfaced unhurt to her great relief.

"You are crazy! You had no idea if it was deep enough!"

"It was deep enough!" He had to yell as well for her to hear.

"Still!"

"Forget it and jump yourself!"

"No way!"

In response, Madara started running back up the cliff.

"Oh no, no. I am not jumping in there with you." Sakura put up a vehement protest. The moment he emerged from behind the edge his intent was very easy to read. Madara took two steps towards her, grinning widely.

"I will catch you anyhow." Step. "And if you don't cooperate…" Step. "We won't jump far enough." Another step and a firm grasp on her wrist. "And then it can get dangerous…"

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. "You are simply nuts." There was quite some edge of fear in her laughter. And so much hunger in his eyes. He pulled her towards the cliff. Knowing that he was right about the risk of jumping not far enough, Sakura picked up full speed.

They came back to the top of the cliff to warm up, but not before Sakura had jumped three times legs down and even twice head first.

"Are you even afraid of something?"

"Now? No… Not anymore."

"And before?"

"Oh, I was afraid of many things… My father to begin with. But it was first one to go – when I realized which level of power I was going to achieve. What else… Of being alone in dark places… Of being left behind… Seeing my loved ones die. Letting them down, not being able to protect them… Luckily these problems are also gone."

Sakura's heart clenched. For a moment he sounded like Naruto. What happened to the boy he was when all the people he loved died? What happened that made him be what he is now? Seeing so much black that he didn't even notice a hand stretched out by a friend?

"Not having these problems is your biggest problem." What happens if you have no one left to protect? No one to live for? What would Naruto do if everyone, everyone was gone? Go crazy? Very probable…

"I wish it went differently for you." She wanted so much to reach him. He was sitting just next to her but so far away. "I wish you had a good life." She leaned her forehead against side of his arm. "I would wish so many things for you..." Pressed her nose into his arm. "So many things..." Dry lips on warm skin. Close your eyes. Stay.

He didn't move. The only indication of surprise was one breath that came the tiniest moment too soon.

"Hey, don't cry there again." It was a very long moment until he ruffled her hair and broke the contact.

"Not crying."

"I wondered myself what would have happened if I had stayed in Konoha. Or never founded it at all. It would have been more fortunate for me for sure. But what's done is done. And now I can bring peace to the entire world. Isn't it worth it?"

'No, it isn't!' Sakura wanted to shout, but she didn't manage to as he pulled her towards the cliff again.

They didn't notice that the sun had set quite low already and the basking spot on the top of the cliff was in shadow. That meant no place to warm up and dry before they made their way home. When they reached the compound Sakura was chilled to the bone in clinging wet clothes.

She needed to change, but all she could find in 'her' part of the house were kimonos. More or less elaborate, but only kimonos. And unfortunately these more intricate ones tended to also be warmer. She put on the undergarment, bound it with a string, managed even to put a kimono on and wrap it in a semi-correct way. But without the obi, it was of course opening at her chest. And tying the obi was completely out of her limits.

"Don't laugh." Madara raised his head. And stared. "Don't. You. Dare. To laugh." Sakura held kimono closed at the front with one hand. The belt she was dragging in the other.

"Help me out with this." She approached briskly. "Please. I cannot do it myself."

Madara chuckled.

"A female and cannot even dress herself." He mocked. "How should I know how to?"

"Oh, come on. You had to undress all these women somehow. And they were all wearing these." Sakura gestured at her outfit. "And don't tell me you didn't have your Sharingan activated even once! You must remember, I know how it works!" She pushed the obi into his hands. "Just wrap me up! Reverse the motions."

Madara looked incredulously at the belt, then at the girl standing with her back towards him. Then again at the obi. He found an end, left a length of it free, put the fabric against her waist.

"Wait, I'll make a clone, so I can watch and do it again on my own."

First layer went around her. The second, tight.

Reverse the motions. He should be doing it the other way round. Suddenly, he wanted to see what was beneath the cloth. Third layer. To run fingers against the skin. The knot. The clone was watching carefully.

"Hold this end. This is then folded in two and you tie it with the shorter end."

"Thank you! Thank you so much for helping me!" Sakura sounded truly elated.

He never helped any of those women in anything, never was kind to any of them. Just threw them out afterwards. He remembered how they scrambled gathering their belongings, trying to cover themselves up, sneaking out hoping not to be seen. Was there one among them that came willingly, hoped for something? He will never know, he sent them all away…

Sakura turned around. It felt so different to be dressed in real kimono. No comparison with the summer yukata that she sometimes wore for the festival. It was so tight and stiff and held her straight. Longer steps became impossible, replaced by a dainty, and a bit wobbly gait.

As far as she knew there was not a single mirror in whole compound. And she wanted to see herself. She carefully approached the koi pond. Not the best mirror and she could see herself only from an awkward from-beneath angle.

Madara was also watching. It was amazing how a dress can change a person. This was no longer this loud, tomboyish, reckless girl but a grown-up woman. A young, graceful woman.

"How do I look?"

' _Fine. Nice. OK. Finely proper_.'

"Beautiful." Madara jerked his head with astonishment at the words that had just left his mouth.

* * *

As nice as wearing a kimono felt, it was also awfully impractical. And since other women's clothing was non-existent, Sakura resorted to scouring other parts of the compound for some boys' outfits. They didn't fit perfectly and she had to bind trousers with a belt, but she didn't mind it too much. Problem was, every single shirt had an Uchiha crest on the back. Just how self-possessed had this clan been? It was almost creepy. But she wouldn't even mind wearing the clothes with the fan, but she wasn't sure how Madara would take it. He was all about superiority of the Uchiha.

"Uhm… Would you mind if I wear it?" Sakura held the shirt up.

He looked surprised.

"No, not at all."

Sakura felt suspicious. This went too easily.

"You won't be bothered by an outsider brandishing your crest? Isn't it against the tradition or something?"

"The custom would actually have you not running around here wearing your own crest. It could maybe be accepted for you to wear no symbol at all. But not the other way round."

Sakura tilted her head, thinking. It didn't make much sense, unless…

"You mean if I would be married into the clan…?"

"Aha."

"Oh." Sakura opened her mouth. Was it how he was thinking about her? As married into Uchiha clan? But he had never… they were just… living together for months already? Well, maybe it also counted as being part of the clan… One of the clan women? Belonging to him anyhow?

Now, that was an uncomfortable thought. From one side, she liked that he trusted her, she liked this surprising level of closeness they managed to reach, because living with a distant stranger would be unbearable. And she liked him, more and more; it felt good being around him, fun and safe and somehow effortless. But if he thought of her as property?

* * *

As the nights stopped getting shorter while the days still grew hotter, Sakura realized it was the time of the summer festival in dream-time. And as there had been no festivals whatsoever in Konoha for two years due to all destruction and later the war, she was really yearning for one.

So she ransacked the house looking for stuff. When she entered the main yard loaded with all the treasures, Madara sent her a very heavy look. She pretended not to notice.

She was finished with most of the decorations and proceeded to hang the lanterns. She wanted them around the whole yard, but the roof of the main building was too high. Which jutsu could she use to raise herself up? Or maybe she should just pin the lantern's string with a kunai? But they were so fragile and for sure very precious. So she stood there, head raised, thinking, when something grabbed around the middle and lifted her in the air. She stiffened, first out of surprise, then kept it consciously to better accommodate being raised.

"A bit more to your left," she said, trying to sound all business-like. And not to think about Madara's face basically touching her belly.

He dropped her very slowly, letting her body slide down his. And then didn't remove hands from her waist. For one heartbeat. Two.

' _Something's happening. Everything feels different now._ ' She wasn't sure how exactly it made her feel. Mostly nervous.

But he just stepped back and turned to leave. Sakura shook her head.

"What about other lanterns?"

"Find a chair."

And he was gone. And sure as hell he knew there were no chairs here.

That was odd. This sudden change in the air. And him leaving so abruptly. Nothing happened, yet something happened to him. And the longer she thought about it, the more she was realizing that maybe to her as well. She liked it. She liked being touched. She regretted that he left.

So when he finally came back, Sakura blushed crimson. But Madara was behaving casually as if nothing took place. So she did as well.

When the moon came out, she lit the lanterns. He produced sake from somewhere and they sat there, moon-gazing and drinking. Sakura was soon quite dizzy and it became easy to babble about festivals she shared with Naruto or even earlier, also with Sasuke. About the pranks, silly contests, losing Naruto in the crowd only to find him being chased by a vendor that realized that the eaten dango will never be paid for. About Naruto trying to win some trinkets for her and always failing miserably. About attaching embarrassing tags to the backs of random people in the crowd. Trying to accidentally bump into Sasuke on these rare occasions he was even there. Being dragged by Ino after some boy she had her eyes on then.

All these funny, childish, embarrassing, heartwarming moments. They made her smile and laugh aloud. They also made him laugh.

Madara didn't have any festival stories to share. Shinobi never participated in festivals, he said. Far too dangerous. But he returned stories about pranks that he and his brothers played during religious ceremonies in Uchiha settlement. Those were a bit more extreme as the Uchiha elders didn't have much sense of humour. But she laughed to tears nevertheless, imagining little black-haired boys sneaking onto the roof of the shrine to let a bunch of chickens inside the hall through the opening. And she felt truly sorry about punishment they received.

The moon travelled across the sky and when Sakura was going to bed she couldn't stop smiling. And she was sure that it wasn't just sake mixed with festival stories. She felt happy, deep inside.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura woke up with a horrible headache. And a lingering feeling of having done something not quite right. Fighting through the throbbing pain behind her eyes, she tried analysing the source of her bad consciousness. Sure, drinking was one of shinobi vices, and she wasn't exactly of a legal age yet it but still… She never took those rules for a gospel. There was something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

' _I wish Ino was here. I wish for Ino listening patiently to my accounts of each and every of my encounters with him. From the day I met him._ ' Sakura felt robbed. Robbed of her chance to share what was so important, robbed out of opportunity to put her feelings into words.

' _I wish you were here to call me out on my feelings. I'm all confused, and you would have known better._ ' And it would make Ino happy, her who fussed about Sakura for years and now she was missing out on her… her what?

Sakura sat up on her futon in one swift motion, suddenly completely sober. "Ino, I guess I managed. I finally managed once again…" She brought hands to her face, dabbed at the wetness in the corners of her eyes. "But why like this?"


	6. Chapter 6

That day, Madara woke up into the dream in fantastic mood. In reality, he had scored a double victory and a very satisfying one. He tracked down that snake-creep that had the nerve to summon him as a reanimation. And as sweet as revenge could get, he got him to perform Rinne Tensei to bring himself back in his real body. It required major genjutsu and some eye transplantation with the help of White Zetsu, but it was very much worth it. Reborn in his real body, he felt simply ecstatic. He could immediately go and test himself in a fight if only there was a chance for it, but sadly it wasn't the case.

Even now, in the dream, he felt different, so full of life and energy. Or was it his imagination? He regretted not being able to share his joy with Sakura. The whole Mugen Tsukuyomi plan didn't sit well with her. Each time the conversation would go that direction, she would try convincing him to abandon the plan. From one side, he understood her, but by now she really should accept that he won't change his mind….

And there was this tiny other reason for joy rattling somewhere in the nooks of his mind – he was actually sure that he wouldn't be returning here after he broke the Edo Tensei. Yet here he was. And he was glad.

That day, after defeating that Kabuto guy, the moment when he felt his body back, he got the chance to experience a birth with consciousness of an adult and it was the most exciting ordeal he'd ever gone through. Later that day he felt hunger, he felt pain and in the end of the day he felt tired and drowsy and he cherished each and every one of those sensations. He set up sentinels around his small camp, just like in the old days, and for the first time in a long while, he lay down to fall asleep. He didn't spare a thought to Sakura when he did it. But now, seeing her, he couldn't deny he was glad.

So without explaining his reasons, he scooped up Sakura in his arms the moment he saw her sitting on the veranda. She squeaked in surprise – she saw him approaching but didn't expected to be picked up in the air.

"What are you doing?"

Madara didn't answer, only stepped into the yard, laughing and spinning her around.

"Hey, what is with you?" Sakura was laughing as well, a bit breathlessly and uncertainly, but as much as him by then.

"I just feel good." He threw her in the air to catch her by the waist.

Sakura was laughing; she was hanging on his outstretched arms, flying in the air. "I'm a bird in the blue, blue sky!"

' _And he looks so happy._ '

Madara threw her up again and she had to squeak once more.

"Don't do it, I'm afraid."

"Oh, come on, I won't drop you." Another throw, but this time he put her down. Sakura bent with her hand on her knees, panting. She glimpsed up at him. He looked almost like Naruto when he would get some fortuitous news. As if he didn't know what to do with himself out of overpowering joy. Well, almost like Naruto. With Madara, there was always an edge of violence in whatever he did.

"Want to spar?" Better that he uses up his energy in training than do something stupid. Like set the house on fire or something.

Their spars had become satisfying some time ago already. They always ended with Sakura losing, obviously. But she measured her success by the amount the time she lasted, managed to evade the grip on the throat, a kunai touching the jugular or simply being knocked to the ground. And she really enjoyed them. The excitement of the fight pulsing through her, that synchronization of their movements as they danced their feral dance.

That day she had a really good flow. She managed to avoid couple of attacks that would have surely incapacitated her at the beginning. She was able to predict some of his moves. Apparently even Uchiha Madara had his patterns. Of course, he would mask them when fighting a more serious opponent, she had no doubt. Nevertheless, she got him irritated couple of times by avoiding what he surely thought to be a finishing blow.

When he finally got her, she hit the ground hard, pinned under him.

Sakura moved to stand up, but he did not. And then, very deliberately, he opened her legs with his knee. Sakura glared with more incomprehension than anger.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

"Get off me!" His leg touching her crotch wasn't helping her focus.

"No."

"What do you mean 'No'?! Whatever you do from now on will be considered rape!" This was serious, but somehow it felt as if it was still a spar, still a play.

"Unless I get your consent…"

"You won't!" She broke off as she felt his hand sliding down her leg to get her kunai out of the holster.

By then she was fully spread under him, with her hands immobilized over her head and legs unable to kick him away. He put the kunai to her crotch. And cut all the clothes up to her neck.

She screamed in fury. There was anger, embarrassment, disagreement on being treated like that. But still no fear. Funny, even though she thought she should be scared, all she was thinking about was that he should stop behaving like he owned her. And then she couldn't think anymore because Madara was kissing her ears, her neck, her breasts, his weight pushing between her legs. The pressure there was making her feel strange, like tingling, like needing to do something, but she wasn't sure what was it exactly that she needed to do. She started to writhe under him, to open her legs more, to embrace him. It felt like a coil wringing inside her belly. And then she realized she was getting wet down there. Madara put his hand between them and she saw him smile as he noticed it as well. His fingers danced at the entrance, slipping deeper and deeper until they were inside. Sakura jerked away in reflex. But there was no pain whatsoever, just this strange pressure building up inside her that made her move back against his hand. She didn't feel any barrier. Was it because it was a dream or because she had lost it already through heavy training? Ino said it was more than common among kunoichi. She bucked and shifted her hips giving his fingers more space.

Suddenly, his hand was gone and so was his weight on her. She opened her eyes in surprise. Madara was kneeling before her, opening his trousers. She gulped, fear finally kicking in. He lowered himself to her again and she drew a panicked breath, feeling his tip touching her. And nothing happened. He was only lightly pressing and touching her entrance and suddenly she missed his fingers inside her. She wanted…

Madara jerked his head, looking at her face for first time for a long time. Until now, he'd paid attention only to other parts of her, watching her embarrassingly opened up.

"So, do I have this consent?"

He had such a mean smirk on his face that she wanted to scream 'NO!' but all she managed was a weak "You have it…"

And then he thrust, all gentleness suddenly gone. Sakura screamed. It felt so weird to have something there. But he kept moving and the rolling motion and repeated pressure started to wind that coil in her belly again. With his every thrust and her every response, the coil was tightening. Sakura curled her toes. The rocking motion was moving her further and further and she knew there will be an edge, an end for her in sight, getting closer. She inhaled, tried to open her legs wider when he stopped moving. Sakura jerked her head, completely frustrated. That was on purpose, she was sure.

"Why did you stop?'"

"Did you like it?"

She tried to guide him back into her with her legs, but it didn't work. Sakura bit her lip. She saw his smirk, understood what he wanted. This was pride and that urge to always have the upper hand that was so characteristic of him, but to do it during their first joining? Her first ever? It seemed she would need to say something though. "Do it as before, please, I liked it…"

She tried to pull him to herself again, in vain.

"Do you want me to do something?"

"Can you … uhm… let me finish?"

"Anytime." Indeed, all that was needed were couple of well-placed thrusts and she saw all the stars, and screamed into his arm, and tried to hold him and open herself even more but she couldn't anymore. And she almost didn't register that the last few thrusts were different as he pushed inside her and steadied. When she opened her eyes, she realized the burden of his weight on her, the heat inside and the sticky wetness starting to flow out. So that was how it felt, how the coupling was like..?

He lifted himself off of her. Sakura realized he wasn't even undressed. He was leaving.

' _Don't go. Idiot, you should hold me now._ ' She thought as he turned walking away.

* * *

She woke up, all the emotions welled up. She was still high from her orgasm and terrified about what happened and embarrassed and proud of crossing the Rubicon at the same time, and anxious about the next night and expectant, and ashamed of doing something like with an enemy out of all the people and wanting to do it all over again. She definitely didn't imagine her first time to happen like this. So without any consideration of her sentiments. To be just pulled into it without any mental preparation, without a single piece of intimacy beforehand. And nevertheless to enjoy it that much.

So that's how it happened between a man and a woman. That's how it felt. Now she knew. Even if it was just a dream, she could not deny having an experience. She wouldn't be able to offer her… her inexperience to anyone now. Not that it mattered – the ones who would appreciate it, she would never consider; the one she wished for couldn't care less… She thought how would it have been with Sasuke… Would he even notice if she enjoyed it or not? Would it even matter to him at all? It mattered to Madara.

She had always had something more romantic in mind and now it was too late. But come to think about it, Sakura was not a romantic type of a girl. She was tomboyish and down to earth kind of person who yelled and punched when pissed off and never hesitated when taking a risk. So maybe it was fitting?

So she was definitely confused and, additionally, surprisingly sore. And she really needed a hug. Since there was no one there, she wrapped herself tight in the sleeping covers to get impression of human embrace. And cried because it was all just too much.


	7. Chapter 7

The next night she was back in the compound. Madara was sitting in his usual spot by the koi. She gave him a look that would make Naruto run for his life. It made Madara laugh.

"What is it? No 'Hello'?"

Sakura glared.

"What's with your manners? You look as if you want to hit me." He was finding her very amusing. "So, let's give you a chance – how 'bout a spar?"

This time, Sakura really went for it, infused tons of chakra into her punches, but of course he was too fast. Nevertheless, she had an impression that she pushed him into the defensive for a moment. Or maybe he was not into attacking today? Just getting her to work out her anger? Sakura was getting tired when suddenly he stepped up his game. With a couple of kicks and blows that she still managed to dodge, he outmaneuvered her. And there he was, behind her, pressing a kunai to her throat.

"I win."

"You always win. What's the point bragging about it?!"

"Oh, good, finally you've spoken up." She could hear a mean broad smile without seeing it. She knew him really well by now.

He was still behind her, at bit closer now, their bodies touching. He pressed her tighter, put his lips to the crook of her neck. A shiver traveled down Sakura's spine. Madara licked the skin behind her ear, but didn't touch her anywhere else. Just pressed closer. Somehow, it wasn't really surprising her. Nor could it be unwelcomed for all the pleasure it was causing. During the day, she'd been thinking about the previous encounter over and over again. And as confused as she was about it, she wanted to taste more of it. She was really angry though at his manner of just taking, as if she belonged to him.

Madara sucked on her neck and she just had to arch a bit into him.

"In a better mood already? Then get your pants off."

"Bastard, how dare you?" Sakura hissed. Exactly. This manner.

The blade jumped back to her throat. "How dare I? I am holding a kunai at your throat."

"And are you going to force me?"

"What's the difference? It doesn't matter if I force you, manipulate you, seduce you or talk you nicely into it. It will always be just my will against yours. Me against you."

"Why against? You make it sound as if every interaction has to be a conflict!"

"Because it is. And now I suggest we continue this philosophical discussion after we're done fucking. Out of your pants, unless you want to have another pair ruined and run half naked for the rest of the day."

"Ok, then…" Sakura made a move to step away. If she could get out of his grasp, she could make a run for it. Or not really… She could not outrun Uchiha Madara.

"Oh, no, I don't think so." He reinforced the grip.

"So, how am I supposed to…?"

"Standing."

Sakura wanted to punch him so much, to shove an elbow into his stomach for example. Instead, she reached for her shorts. It was difficult to get them down when she couldn't even move her neck. She had to squirm quite a lot and she understood the motive behind it. With each move, she had to rub her butt against his groin. And it was making him excited. Not only him – the pants sliding down her legs were wet. She stepped out of them. Madara bit her neck, quite painfully. And kicked her legs from under her.

Sakura didn't even register how she ended up on all fours in the sand. His grip on her hips immobilized her. When she glanced back, Madara was grinning.

"Let's start, shall we?"

It was like a storm that threatened to knock her to the ground, shook everything about her. Halfway through, she'd used up all her strength already to counter the thrusts. It was good that he was holding her hips and kept pulling her into himself because by then she just couldn't anymore. After they were finished, Sakura collapsed into a sad pile on the ground. She was completely exhausted and the orgasm she rode left her legs feeling strangely soft. Madara looked down at her with half contempt, half amusement.

"You look like you need an onsen." He grabbed her hand and pulled her on her feet. Onsen? Was there an onsen somewhere in this compound? There was, and a beautiful one, only that it was underground. That's probably why she never found it.

Oblivious of her presence, Madara undressed and stepped into the water. Sakura couldn't help staring. She never saw him naked, and even though she saw her classmates train and treated many wounded men, no one could compare. ' _One can teach muscle anatomy on this one…_ ' Sakura almost giggled.

"Are you going to stand there forever?"

Sakura woke up. She wasn't really sure about it. Now she wasn't being coerced into anything. No kunai on her throat, no pinning to the ground. She didn't have to go with it. Plus, she was quite ashamed of getting undressed before a stranger – well, not exactly – in front of a man with whom she shared her whole life history already. And who fucked her twice. Not much of a stranger. And whatever he will do, it's not that he didn't do it already before. And the water looked so tempting…

Trying to keep her attitude sober and indifferent, Sakura undressed. Madara wasn't even looking. Bastard… But the water was as good as it looked.

Sakura leaned against the edge of the pond and floated. This was so good. She was lying there, not really thinking much. She knew if she started, she would come to the conclusion that all of this was horribly wrong. After a few long minutes Madara broke the silence.

"Where did your chatter disappear?"

She threw him a look.

"I am still angry at you, you know?"

"About what, exactly?"

"About you raping me?"

"I didn't rape you." Madara sounded very relaxed. "Should I remind you of the details? How wide you were spreading your legs for example?"

"But I didn't want it, I didn't plan for it!"

"It's not that I sat planning it for hours either…"

' _Really? And here I thought I finally discovered what you were doing watching your stupid koi,_ ' thought Sakura, but she held her tongue.

"I enjoyed it, you enjoyed it. Where is the problem?"

"But it's not how I imagined it!" She broke off. She didn't want to sound thirteen. "It's not how I wanted it to happen. And that's assuming I even wanted it TO happen, which is a rather bold assumption. And now it's all done and I didn't even have a chance…" What was she trying to say? Have a chance to decide? A complaint that he wouldn't even understand. In his mind, choice was a luxury, unnecessary even for ones with enough power to have this privilege. She sighed sadly. "It's just… You only have one first time…"

"Was it your first time? I didn't notice."

Sakura felt the tears welling up.

"You stinking Uchiha bastard!" She hissed trying to blink the tears away.

"It was a compliment."

"Oh." So, she did well? Is this what he meant?

"You should have asked. Ask, not take for granted, not take as you please. I would have said 'yes' you know…?" She finished very quietly.

Madara gazed at the ceiling.

"Alright. I am sorry that what I did made you upset. I should have acted with more reverence."

"An apology? From the great Uchiha Madara?"

There must have been something really interesting on this ceiling as he kept studying it… "First and last time you'll hear it."

He looked back at her. "So, if that was all it was about and the damage is, so to speak, done, nothing stands in the way of continuing, I imagine?" He sent her a very cheeky smile.

"You are an arrogant, self-possessed jerk!"

Madara laughed.

"You know, that's probably why nobody likes you!"

He laughed again, looked her straight in the eye.

"You like me."

Sakura sent the biggest wave she could produce in his direction but didn't manage to surprise him. A split second later, she felt a grab at her ankle and she was dragged down. She resurfaced a short moment earlier than Madara and pushed his head under water when he was taking his breath. She actually got him to choke a bit. When he finally got to the surface, her hands were still around his neck. Such a jerk, but it is hard not to…

"True. I like you. A lot."


	8. Chapter 8

She got the hang of it. Of how it was happening between them. She learned to read him, it wasn't difficult. At first, he would run a finger along her back or down her leg to make her realize his intentions. Soon, she could tell by the way he would approach or even look at her, she could read it from a smile. She learned to follow up with her own excitement, to keep up with his pace.

That happened often, casually even, whenever he felt like it. She would then just take off necessary pieces of clothing and bend or lean against whatever was handy. But this indiscriminate way didn't bother her at all. She felt flattered by it, she felt desired so strongly...

When he first time came to her room at night, he scared her a lot. She woke up to a presence when she didn't expect any. He was standing at the door, apparently waiting until she woke up. Even when she recognized him, her body reacted on its own and a rush of concentrated adrenaline hit her veins. Sakura felt cold sweat forming along her spine.

"It's only me," he said quietly.

"I know," she managed and forced an inhale. "How long? How long were you standing there?"

"Quite some time. You look rather interesting when you sleep."

Sakura self-consciously adjusted her robe. "Interesting? You came to stare?!" Being startled and woken up from deep sleep wasn't a pleasant combination and Sakura was less than happy.

"I came because I was sure you will be still awake. With such a moon…" Madara nodded in the direction of the courtyard.

Fighting through the black spots in front of her eyes, Sakura scrambled on all fours and reached the sliding door leading to the yard. The light that flooded the room was indeed as bright as that of the sun. Only that the colour was different.

"May I come in?"

"Out of the sudden you need permissions?" Sakura questioned but there was no bite in her voice any longer.

"Of course I do. These are your quarters."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, processing. Sometimes Madara followed those weird customs that he took for granted and she didn't even know the existence of. She shook her head half amused, half perplexed, and pulled her duvet more to the side signalizing the agreement.

Madara knelt down. He stretched his hand to her neck and put two fingers on her pulse point. She knew he didn't have to check it like this, but she figured out that it was probably his way of initiating contact so she smiled and leaned into his hand.

"Better already?"

"Mhm.." she murmured the confirmation even if her heart rate was still far from normal.

With his other hand, Madara pulled at the knot of her belt and her sleeping robe fell open. Sakura moved her shoulders to let it slide down.

He pushed her onto her back, but then, against her expectation, didn't lie down, but stayed above her. He ran fingers along and across her body, touching and touching until Sakura's pulse sped up again, this time out of anticipation. His mouth soon joined his hands and she could only bend and writhe.

Even though coupling was nothing new to her at this point, she felt exposed on different level, because this time his attention seemed to be so focused on her. This time it wasn't about his hunger, but about his curiosity. If it were anyone else, Sakura would come to a conclusion that it was about her pleasure as well, but she quickly shoved that thought out of his head. Then, his tongue dipped in her bellybutton and she promptly forgot her whole train of thoughts.

And then, to her utter surprise, he went even lower and started kissing her between her legs. Or, 'kissing' wasn't really the best description to what was happening down there, but Sakura couldn't think about it anymore because that what he was doing was making her nearly sob. She dug her heels into the mattress to arch more towards him as pure, concentrated pleasure washed over her.

When afterwards she was lying boneless trying to catch her breath, Madara leaned back to sit on his heels and watched her. It made Sakura embarrassed as never before in her life. She was about to curl up in an attempt to escape his gaze when he started undoing his pants. That sobered her and she sprung up.

"Wait! Let me…"

And without waiting for an agreement she tugged at the hem of his shirt. He cooperated well enough when she pulled the shirt over his head. They ended up nose to nose, Sakura kneeling in front of him. Moonlight was over half of his face, his features sharpened by the shadows. He looked all black and white. Or rather black and this almost bluish shade of brightness that was emanating from the moon.

She extended her hand towards him. The shadow cast by her fingers was long and it seemed to Sakura as if a monstrous black hand was reaching towards Madara's heart, ready to pierce it. It scared her so she quickly splashed her palm against his chest.

It occurred to her it was the first time she was touching his skin, not by healing, not by holding to him – just touching only for purpose of feeling him under her fingertips. She traced along the muscles, felt hardness where his collarbones were. She glanced up – he didn't look irritated. It seemed that he was intending to indulge her, even if it probably wasn't exactly his idea of drawing pleasure from her. She would never even think about kissing him anywhere near his face, but she was hovering so close that a kiss on the neck required almost no additional movement. It could almost have been accidental. And then she dared another quick peck somewhere on his chest. She needed to hurry before he lost his patience and tackled her. With somewhat shaky hands, she reached to his already open trousers and lowered her head.

"You don't have to do it."

Sakura stopped. And then a small smile found way to her lips _'You just cannot admit that you want something from me, can you? Something that is not for taking. Just as you cannot manage to say 'I'm sorry' and 'thank you'…'_ She hoped he didn't notice the smile. Especially when it turned a bit sad. Because all of a sudden she felt sorry for him.

"What if I want to?" she said finally and braced herself. She carefully put her mouth around him and tried her best.

_'That's somehow even more intimate than kissing, isn't it? That's pleasure given directly and on purpose. That is exactly what making love is…'_

It was difficult to do all those loving things while not feeling love. Or rather, it wasn't difficult at all, because of what doing those things was making her feel...

He would move only ever so slightly under her hands, even as she felt all his muscles taut. Whenever she slid her eyes open she would see Madara's hands clenched into fists, gripping at the bedcovers in a gesture she would in any other circumstances interpret as aggressive. But she supposed it wasn't aggression, but an attempt on maintaining restraint.

At some point, exactly when she was starting to feel his movements become a bit more noticeable, suddenly a hand grasped her hair, so violently that it hurt and he pulled her head away.

"That's enough," he said, easing the grip but not letting go of her hair.

"Why?! Did I do something wrong?"

"No. But I don't want to scare you again." And before Sakura could process, he shoved her onto her back.

It went fairly quickly from there on but this time, Sakura was doing something more than just gripping his arms for purchase. She ran her hands along his back; under her palms she could feel muscles constricting, his spine bending to the rhythm of his thrusts. She put her hands on his behind and it seemed to her that her pushes were making him go deeper.

Finally, he grew restless, grabbed her legs and moved them so that her knees went up to her chest. He got into her with such an angle that all she could do was to thrash in his grip and chant out her screams as she managed to finish a moment before he did.

She was so sorry when he left soon afterwards.

* * *

He would leave each time until she once decided to ask him directly.

"Could you stay longer?"

"Don't you want to sleep?"

"I want to. But you won't disturb me... You can sleep here. If you want, that is…"

"I can stay a bit, but I don't think I could sleep with you around."

"Why?" Sakura got an indecent idea and it showed up in her voice.

"I don't mean you in particular. Just with another person so close."

But in the end he stayed, and left sometime later when she was already asleep. Afterwards he would always stay whenever she asked, but she had to voice it specifically. She had the impression it had something to do with this being women's quarters, the space that belonged to her. And he sometimes actually slept fast all night; apparently her closeness was not having that much of an impact.

* * *

The passage of time was a tricky thing in the dream. Days were all similar and there was nothing to orientate oneself about. And waking events, as rare as they became, were confusing it even further.

That's why Sakura wasn't sure how much time had passed since they started sleeping with each other. Even more sadly, she couldn't remember when was the last time she had bled. She had a feeling it was already some time ago, but she never thought about keeping track until, well, it was too late. Everyday, she was growing more anxious as the suspicion developed into dreaded certainty. She was trying not to show it to Madara, fearing his reaction as long as she still had a quiver of hope. Until one morning instead of the blood something else came. Cleaning the floor she had retched on, Sakura was confronted with unavoidable.

She slumped on the bed and cried. What would happen now, what would Madara do? Do to her? And she didn't even want to be pregnant! She wanted to escape from this situation, escape out of her own body that suddenly didn't even belong to her anymore.

When she entered the room Madara was browsing through some scrolls. He lifted his head up.

"What's wrong?" She looked like a mess. A very upset mess.

Sakura wrung her hands. Last seconds of Madara being kind to her, of this what they built together. Pity. What a pity. It was the best period of her life even if it wasn't real. She will miss it. She will miss him so much…

"I need to tell you something."

"Yes?"

Sakura took a deep breath.

"I think… I'm pregnant."

"I know." Madara sounded as calm as ever.

"Have you heard me correctly?"

"Aha."

"And you're just going to sit there?!"

"What else do you expect me to do?"

"Get mad?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Because it makes you furious? Because you don't want it? Because you want to reverse it somehow, make it disappear? Make me get rid of it?"

"Where do you get all these ideas from? And am I really so horrible to you?"

"No…" Sakura felt ashamed. She shook her head, trying to collect all the thoughts that just kept running away from her in all possible directions. She managed to catch one. "How come you know it already?"

"I see their chakra every time I activate Sharingan."

"… their?"

"You're carrying twins."

Sakura dropped on the floor where she was standing, as she suddenly ran out of air to breath. She rubbed her forehead, thought-hunting again. "How long have you known already?"

"I don't remember exactly, a few days…"

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I thought you needed to come to terms with it yourself. That you would start a conversation when you felt like talking."

Sakura reached to the memories of last few days. Madara didn't want to spar much recently and when they did he went easy on her. And also with sex, now when she thought about it, he was more… careful? As if he was avoiding any possibilities of hurting her.

"So, you are not angry at me?"

Madara, who was until now keeping perfectly stoic expression, looked at her as if she went crazy.

"At you? Why would I? If anything I could only be angry with myself. But I am not angry at all..." This was strange, he actually sounded pleased. Sakura would have never expected that.

"I thought you never wanted to have children? Because of your worldview and all…"

"It's a dream, here there are no wars. I can hang my worldview on a hook. I don't mind children being born here. It's a good place." He paused. "And you will be great mother."

A mother? She was seventeen – she didn't want to have children now. She wanted to have them at the right time with the right man. But that was there. Here she was living like a century ago, when children were just appearing without anyone's conscious choice. And also to the girls her age. And as for the right man – this one here was coming pretty damn close. Especially now, when… Sakura shook her head. "You speak as if you were happy about it…"

"Actually, now that it had already happened – I am. Though I have to admit, it surprises me that I am. And you, aren't you happy? I thought women always are…"

Sakura looked inside her heart. _'I guess I can be… If he accepts them so readily how could I not? In the end at least from my side, these children… are made from… love…? It is love that I feel for him. Even if it is not at all like that for him.'_

* * *

They would spar very little now. Sakura felt completely fit but most of the time, Madara just plain refused. She ended up building a training parkour to have at least a bit of exercise.

But they found a new occupation – Madara was training her in genjutsu. She knew for a long time already that she had some inborn affinity, but never found time to work on it before. And Madara was far more of an expert than anyone in Konoha. Sakura decided to go in the direction of reality-bending jutsu rather that the full-immersion style of the Uchiha's techniques. Her goal was to put the opponent under a genjutsu so that he wouldn't notice it for a very long time.

Since it was getting colder they spent more time indoors. And happened to land in his bed more often than not. But he would always at some point politely suggest that she should go to sleep. This meant she should go to her part of the house.

When he did it for the first time, it felt really awful. She had to fight hard to offer him a light smile and cheerful 'goodnight'. She knew that clinging and making a scene would be very destructive. He just had a completely different idea about what a relation between a man and a woman consisted of. There would be no gestures, no declarations. She knew that it was not because he didn't feel anything to her. Sakura was absolutely convinced that he felt a lot: genuine liking, desire, trust, sense of ownership… All these but not necessary love. She suspected he wasn't even capable of what she would call love. It didn't bother her too much though – she would just need to have enough of love to provide for them both.

But she should never tell him this. Saying it out loud would evoke a response. A response she didn't want to hear. She won't let him hear it, nor would she get these words from him. But she would be getting so much more from him nevertheless.

* * *

"I don't know how will I manage... The birth, all by myself... I have no idea about it!" And these were twins on top of it all. There could be complications.

"I will be there as well, you know?"

"Where? Want to play a midwife or what?!"

"Of course. Who else?"

"You cannot. You're a man. There will be blood and stuff and..." Sakura saw a birth only once and it was a messy affair. And as her belly filled up, she already felt unattractive enough sometimes. He could not see it. It would only make it worse.

"Now you are just hysterical. Do you honestly think that I cannot stand the sight of blood?"

"No..." Sakura dropped her head. She felt tears welling up. "It's just that... I'm afraid."

Madara reached to her. "Come over here." He dragged her on his lap. "You are going to be alright. It is most natural thing in the world. You will just know what to do when it comes to it." He nudged her neck with his nose, rocking her a bit.

It didn't take long though until his fingers found their way to the knot of her obi.

"Hmm, if you are already sitting like this..." He moved her so that she straddled him. Sakura's robe was already sliding down her waist. Madara laid down.

"It's embarrassing…"

"There's no one here, except of me. And I want to look..."

* * *

What was this awful feeling in her belly? This sucking void, as if some part of her went missing? Sakura sat up on the bed, ripped the blanket away, raised her shirt up. And sucked in her breath.

They were gone. She was empty.

Of course she was. This was reality, a tent in a makeshift emergency medical point right next to the battlefield.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino woke up on the bed next to her.

_'I was six months pregnant just a moment ago. And now I'm not. It feels like a miscarriage both for my body and for my mind… Only that I can never tell you this…'_ It felt like a cold knife twisting in her abdomen.

"I think I'm getting my blood just now. I need to go to the bathroom."

_'And puke.'_ Sakura stood up. She must have had a really pained expression on her face as Ino spared her a second glance.

"Does it hurt so much?"

Sakura rubbed her forehead. They had been inside her, a heavy burden already; she could feel them move… Now they were gone…

"No. It doesn't hurt all..."

"Then what's wrong?"

When she found no answer, Ino came and stroked down her arm, brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek.

"It will be over soon. Very soon. They will kill that bastard and we will all go home."

It was good that Ino was hugging her now so she couldn't see her face.

_'He will get killed and I will GO HOME?! Is this how it is supposed to end? Is this supposed to be a happy ending?!'_

"I need to go to this bathroom."

_'I need to go home. See him again, make love to him again. Give birth to our children. I want to fall asleep and never wake up. I want to go home.'_

* * *

"Be careful." In darkness, Sakura whispered into the crook of his neck. She was so close that she couldn't tell anymore where she ended and where he began.

"What do you mean?" So he wasn't asleep yet.

"Just be careful. Out there."

There was a long pause until he spoke what was not really an answer. "This is a very odd thing for you to say."

"I know."


	9. Chapter 9

First thing Sakura perceived when she teleported onto the battlefield was the stench of blood. The ground was red and soft under her feet. There were people, rather in pieces than whole scattered around. She knew it was the shock that erased all feelings from her. She wasn't repulsed or scared, she was just blank.

Sakura looked around – she was behind the Allied Shinobi Forces front line. The fighting was going on a couple of hundred meters away, where ninja were clashing with these White Zetsu creatures. Behind the line she saw the looming silhouette of the Hachibi against a nondescript monstrous form dwarfing even the tailed beast. Next to Eight-Tails she could see the familiar fiery flashes of the Kyubi's chakra. That's where Naruto and Sasuke must be.

She started, fought through the crowd of enemies relatively quickly. She had to hurry; if she was summoned that meant the boys were running very low on chakra, or were injured.

"Ah, Sakura-chan;" Naruto panted, visibly tired. "We're doing perfectly fine here, no need to worry…" Whenever Naruto said something like that it meant exactly the opposite. He was such a horrible white-liar. Any kind of liar for that matter. Sakura stepped towards him to heal his dislocated shoulder. Completely out of socket - that's why they had sent for her. Even the Kyubi's healing ability cannot move the bones. That will hurt. Naruto grunted under her hand.

"Yosh, Naruto, you're good to go! What about you Sasuke?"

"Hn." That probably meant he didn't need her assistance.

From where she was standing now she could see the Gedō Mazō more clearly. It was… disgusting. And on top of it, two men standing…

And then she saw him. Same red armor, same wild mane, same arrogant stance. Her dream made flesh. Standing there, ordering new troops of White Zetsus on the ground. Everything around her stopped, stopped mattering. Just stopped. She couldn't even see anything outside this one line of sight. Only that eerie silence ringing and ringing in her ears - shouldn't she be hearing the roar of the battle?

_'So that is it. It's today that we kill_ _each another_ _._ _Us_ _against him. No matter what happens here - I lose. No matter what happens I lose him. If he wins I lose him, if he falls I lose him. I don't want to. I don't want a life without him.'_ She stepped forward. _'It has to stop. He has to stop.'_

"Stop." She whispered. "Stop." She said it aloud.

"Stop!" Sakura rushed straight into White Zetsu army. "Stop it! MADARA! STOP!"

From the top of Gedō Mazō, Madara noticed her. A small figure surrounded by Zetsus, unmistakable pink hair, fighting her way straight towards him. "What the fuck." She wasn't supposed to be here. He suspected that as a medic she would be in the camp hospital or at the back of the front line at worst. Not here. Not stuck between thousands of Zetsus, not within the stomping range of the statue. Not charging mindlessly towards him.

"S T O P!"

"Amaterasu."

A ring of black flames surrounded Sakura burning the Zetsus around her. She halted.

"Sakura-chan! Don't move, I'll get you out! Don't touch these flames!"

_'If he doesn't know me, I burn. I don't care. I don't want such_ _a_ _life_ _where_ _he doesn't even know who I am.'_ Flames were singing and hissing around her; the stench of burning bodies was suffocating. She charged directly into the fire.

Flames moved with her, quenching before her feet to rise again behind her, following her like a moving cage. It almost swept her off her feet, that feeling of euphoria. _'He recognized me. He knows me! I was not the only one dreaming! That thing that happened between us, it was real!'_

The flames disappeared. The earth shook as Uchiha Madara landed in front of her.

"Sakura-chan! I'm coming!" From the corner of her eye, she saw familiar orange of chakra-cloak approaching, only to be blurred by blue glow of Susano'o that enclosed her and Madara.

"What do you think you are doing?"

She turned her head. Very slowly. He was emitting such an aura that breathing alone was difficult. She was scared out of her mind, she would be an idiot if she wasn't. But then, when she looked at him, she just couldn't help it – that almost painful pang of joy, boundless joy of seeing him. For the first time, she was looking at his face with real eyes. She wanted to reach to him, to touch him, make sure he was real. Her arm moved on its own but he was too far.

Madara noticed the change in her stance. Why would she be happy to see him? This wasn't reaction he was expecting. But then, apparently he couldn't anticipate anything she was doing. And he was also taken aback by facing her, only that he could cover it better up.

"I am going to take you somewhere safe."

"No." Sakura regained her speech.

Madara arched his eyebrow. "Have you even taken notice of your circumstances?"

"I don't care about my circumstances!" The paralyzing fear evoked by the lord of destruction was gone. Now it was Madara she was talking to. Mean, over-confident, overbearing Madara who would never show how much he cared. Her Madara. Her Madara? Nevermind Sakura, just keep talking. "I want you to stop!"

"I've heard it, I'm not deaf. However, what you want at this point is completely irrelevant."

"It is! You want to put me under a genjutsu. And I don't want it. None of people here want your artificial happiness. I understand why you are doing this; you want them to be happy. I understand why came up with this idea. I really do. But this is a mistake. You are making a mistake. This isn't the way. The world can get better when people stay alive. It is already getting better."

"You just haven't lived long enough. The world is built on pain, life is suffering. But you will never know it. I will spare you this."

"Yes, there is suffering, a lot of it. But there is also joy!"

Madara shook his head. This was pointless. "There is no.."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't find joy in me! Tell me you did not enjoy me!"

First time in decades Madara wanted to avert his gaze. He didn't.

"I did enjoy you."

"I saw you happy, I saw you drawing pleasure from being alive, moving your muscles during training, basking in the sun, staring at the moon. Feeding your stupid koi. Stealing glimpses at my behind – did you think I wasn't noticing it?"

Madara jerked his head, looked somewhere past her shoulder intensely.

* * *

"Sasuke, what are they talking about?! Use your Sharingan and read their lips!"

"Shut up, I'm doing this."

"And? So? What are they.."

"Naruto, stay quiet for a moment, let Sasuke concentrate." Kakashi was trying to introduce some structure into his students' chaotic struggle.

Naruto, defeated, strained his eyes towards the Final Susano'o that was holding his friend trapped with the enemy. Sabres, two in each hand, sending blast after blast kept their party from approaching. Any attack could potentially harm Sakura. And he just couldn't see as well as Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei… But that thing he saw – Madara jerked his head, looked right at them, said something. And Susano'o took off…

"Wait! Come back here, you coward! Give Sakura-chan baaaack!" It was so quick that Sasuke didn't even have time to react, let alone activate his Susano'o.

"Sakura-chaaan!" Susano'o was disappearing behind the clouds.

"Naruto, calm down. Sasuke, did you get what they were talking about?" Kakashi was still somehow able to keep his cool.

"It was mostly Sakura. I couldn't get it well, she was almost with her back to me. He said that world is suffering and then that he enjoyed something. Then Sakura went babbling about happiness, it all didn't make much sense…"

"And then at the end? He said something when he looked at us!" Pressed Naruto.

"I didn't get it."

"Ehem…. I think he said: We won't be discussing it here with your loverboy imitation of an Uchiha eavesdropping." Kakashi-sensei was always to be counted on. "I think he meant you, Sasuke…"

"Kakashi. I will kill you."

"He?! What? Teme! Do you have something with Sakura-chan?" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's collar.

"Get your hands off me, dobe! And I don't have anything with Sakura."

"Then why did he…"

"Naruto, main point here is why was Uchiha Madara even having something akin to marital argument with Sakura in the middle of the battlefield. How is it even possible that they know each other? Very… ehem… well from what we saw… Naruto, dispatch your clone to the headquarters to report. Have them check Sakura's activities in the last days."

"Kakashi-sensei, you are not suspecting…"

"I am not suspecting anything. I am trying to gather intel. And we must focus on Obito and Gedō Mazō."

"No! We must rescue Sakura!"

"Rescue her from where? Do you have any idea where he took her? And I don't think she is in direct danger anyway. Madara could have killed her fifteen times already and he didn't. By whatever means, Sakura succeeded in taking the most dangerous enemy off the field. It is our chance now! Let's not waste the opening she created. Let's go!"


	10. Chapter 10

They landed in some god-forsaken mountains. Madara grabbed her arm and practically dragged her through the gate into a large stone hall. Uchiha symbols were everywhere.

"Stay here," he ordered.

"What! Wait! If you think that I will sit here when you are going on with your plan.."

"Just stay here. Please."

Sakura dug her hands into her hair in despair.

"Don't you get it? I don't want to be put under the Mugen Tsukuyomi. I don't want my friends to die. I don't want to see my loved ones suffer because of this paranoid, artificial non-life you want to create!"

"Nobody will suffer. They will be happy. You will be happy…"

"No, I won't! I will be under a genjutsu, that's the difference! Happy, I can be in real life!"

"Do you really believe it? That you will get what you desire? Are you that naïve? Nothing will go as you imagine it. That pathetic attempt on an Uchiha is a damaged man. I would be sorry for him if he wasn't that much of a disgrace. Whatever the outcome, you will end up unhappy for the rest of your life…"

"What?!"

"In your Tsukuyomi he will love you…"

"I don't want.."

"Or you can have him as the arrogant prick that he is, save the traumas that broke him. If you prefer a challenge…"

"Where on earth did you get the idea that I want Sasuke from?"

"You told me yourself?" Madara was genuinely surprised. This must be his inexperience with human interactions showing.

"That was before." Sakura bit her lip.

Madara turned to leave.

"Didn't you notice? All this time you didn't notice?! I don't want Sasuke. I want YOU!"

Madara didn't turn back. She shouldn't see his face now. He didn't think he could cover it up, this pain that she caused him. The pain of seeing an opportunity that will be missed, entering within the grasping range only to be allowed to slip between his fingers. Never to come to pass.

"In this moment, through some hellish miracle, we are both alive. We can stay alive. You and me. We can have a life. Together." She was crying, he could hear it. "You don't have to do this. To sacrifice yourself for humanity. What will become of you afterwards? Will you stay awake among the sleepers? For eternity? Always alone? I don't want you to. It breaks my heart a thousand times to even imagine it. I don't want you to suffer like this… Because… I love you..."

Madara turned abruptly.

"You are playing your cards well, kunoichi. But you've played one too many."

"I'm not playing anything!"

"Then how will you explain this?" He gestured towards her belly.

"Explain what?"

"That."

"What?"

Seriously, she could spare him this word sparring. He kind of didn't have time.

"Your pregnancy."

"My what?" Sakura looked at her abdomen in utter incomprehension. Horror was rising in her. Madara had no reason to make something like this up. "I'm not pregnant…" Her voice was very weak.

Madara had enough. Enough of her babbling, enough of wasted precious minutes. With a decisive move, he grabbed her chin.

"Tsukuyomi."

Sakura drew a panicked breath. They were a red-and-black world, on a vast plain. This was the famed Uchiha genjutsu, the same one that kept Kakashi-sensei incapacitated for weeks.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no torture. I don't have time for entertainment. Just look and see for yourself."

Sakura blinked. She could see Madara's chakra pathways. All of them! And a huge, central whirlpool, so powerful that it was overflowing and collapsing into its own endless depth. She looked down. Saw her own whirlpool spinning strong under her heart. And beneath it… Oh gods, what was it? Two tiny swirls on the both sides of her abdomen, pulsing steadily… inside her… She felt the contents of her stomach rising up.

When she opened her eyes, Sakura was back in the Uchiha hideout.

"Have you seen it? One heck of a medic you are, not recognizing your own condition." He mocked.

Sakura bit her lip. True, she was famously neglectful of her own well-being. And true, for a couple of days she sometimes felt sick and often weaker, as if her chakra was being depleted but of course didn't look more carefully into it, just choose to ignore it… It never came to her mind to examine herself, because…

"How could I have even considered such a possibility? How can I even BE pregnant!? I'm a virgin!"

A chuckle. That was definitely a chuckle, this sound that Madara just made.

"… what?"

"Nothing." His eyes escaped to the side.

"WHAT?"

"I just thought about all the ways I had you…"

And now she had to think about it as well. About all the ways… Sakura shook her head. This was not the time or place for such thoughts. Another shake.

"On everything that is dear to me in this world – I have never had a physical contact with a man. These things cannot be embryos! What are they then?!"

Madara gave her a very long look. He was deciding now, she knew.

And he decided to believe her. An uncanny suspicion was starting to grow in his mind. Much more uncanny than the picture of Sakura being screwed by someone else. He shifted his gaze to her belly.

"Their chakra somehow has a different shade than yours. And mine for that matter. Activate that seal of yours."

Sakura did as she was told.

"Enough." The look on his face told her that something was seriously wrong.

"What is it?!"

"This is Yin chakra. Yin only. Yang is missing, so is probably the flesh. They are not alive, only chakra whirlpools. Connected to your seal which is probably why you are still able to stand on your feet."

"Why…?"

"They are feeding on your chakra, currently drawing from the seal, as long as there is still something there. Don't you feel it?"

Sakura concentrated. Actually now, when she knew what to look for… There was a pull, a gentle drainage…

"I feel them…" She put her hand on her belly. "In the dream I was having twins. These are two as well…" She broke off, put both hands on her belly. Lifted her head, looked him in the eyes to see his Sharingan spinning madly. One heartbeat. Two. "You know it already as well, don't you? These are yours…"

Madara hadn't experienced such a shock since Izuna's death. It was incomprehensible and he didn't know how to react to it. This was not the part of the plan, it shouldn't be happening! And it won't be happening. Sakura will sleep in the Tsukuyomi and these things… These things will remain what they are – just chakra whirlpools. Until they grow and drain her dry… But it didn't matter, he will make her live out her dream faster; have a long, beautiful life inside the Tsukuyomi. Before they killed her. That's why Tsukuyomi must take place. Now he really could not fail. Because he couldn't fail her.

"Our children… I want to see them…" Sakura suddenly sounded very tired.

"You will." He smiled. "I'll give you the most beautiful dream…"

"Not in a dream." She was crying, choking on tears. But somehow each sentence was coming out louder than the previous one. "In reality. With you! In that compound that you love so much!"

"That house doesn't exist!" She got him to lose his composure finally. Painful memories were overflowing in him now. "It burnt a hundred years ago!"

"THEN BUILD IT BACK FOR ME!"

Madara hung his head low. The Uchiha compound, full of people; the yard he walked in with his brothers… All gone. So long gone. _'… build it back.'_

"Last night…" Sakura was crying for good now. "Last night I was back there. I was looking for you but I couldn't find you. You didn't sleep at all, did you?"

He didn't answer.

"I walked into the training yard and then I saw them. A boy and a girl. Sparring. Both black-haired. Nothing like me, and all like you… The boy…" Sakura sobbed uncontrollably. "The boy was left-handed…"

_'A battle advantage.'_ Out of nowhere a thought appeared in Madara's mind. _'_ _A left-hander_ _has a battle advantage._ '

"You will see them soon."

"Don't you want to as well? To get to know their faces? To see them grow? Become strong?"

And all Madara could think of was how does one train a left-hander to fully develop his potential.

"They can have wonderful lives. We will do everything we can for them, won't we? Exciting lives, interesting lives…"

He thought about the first left-hander he had ever fought. What a challenge it was, how proud he had felt when he had beaten him. About the thrill it had given him.

"They can be happy…"

How will he train the girl? If she spars constantly with her brother she will be at a disadvantage against all the other opponents. But of course they will always train together; he could imagine they would be inseparable. Which was good, as whatever happened they would always have each other. His son and his daughter…

The feelings. They were suddenly all there. Like foul stains on the waters of his mind. A selfish wish for happiness. Lust after a woman. Desire for offspring. Muddying the waters. _'I'm sinking…'_

Why? He worked so hard to rid himself of desires, so that nothing would distract him from achieving his goal. And now, the crystal clearness of enlightenment was getting dimmed. _'I cannot stop it, it is taking over… I am sinking and the water is dark.'_

They were around him, circling like vultures. Desire, love, anger, hatred, hope, ambition, jealousy, bitter disappointment. Pain, pain, pain. All of the emotions from his long life - demons raising their ugly heads. _'I don't want to feel. Not again…'_

Bright pictures of life in front of his eyes. The days he hasn't lived yet. Sun, laughter, warm summer nights. _'Why? Why am I thinking about chances long gone now? About chances not yet gone? About futures?!'_

"I'm drowning..." Did he say it aloud? He startled. And then again when a hand touched his cheek. He pushed it away. But the foreign hand took hold of his and held strong. Very strong. He lifted his head to a girl before him.

"I'll heal it. I'll take this pain away."

Madara didn't understand. He didn't know who this girl was nor what she was saying. But she kept holding his wrist. All he could see were visions, bright alternating with dark, heard laughter and screams and he felt and felt and felt. He felt all that he had ever felt.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" He doubled over, screaming.

The girl was holding both of his wrists. He couldn't break her grasp.

He looked at her again. She had pink hair, what an idiotic color. She was saying something to him, he couldn't hear it, sounds were coming blurred to him as if she was behind a glass curtain. Or was he?

He blinked. Sakura. That was her name. And he loved her.

He looked around. Now... He could remember. Everything.

He turned to the exit.

"Stop! STOP!" It was the loudest Sakura had ever screamed in her entire life. Did he come back from whatever nightmare he got lost in? If so, then who came back? Even more of a madman than he already was?

"Madara!" A moment ago it was a man enduring torture and all she wanted was to ease his pain. But now? What was he doing? Going back to the battlefield? "Stop! If you leave, you won't find me alive!"

Sakura was standing there with her eyes firmly shut. "You won't manage to bind me. I will kill myself before you put me under any genjutsu. I will make my brain implode! I'll break down the DNA in each and every of my cells so that no resurrection will work! I can do it, you know I can!"

"You won't have to," he said very quietly.

Something in his tone made Sakura open her eyes.

"I will stop this war." He couldn't believe the words leaving his own mouth. "I promise not to hurt… Not to kill any of your friends."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The most amazing yomi-gaeru graced me with illustration to this chapter! I'll put it at the end of the chapter. Take a look, it's breathtaking. Warning: the picture is nsfw and there is some blood depicted (nothing too gory though, imo)
> 
> After tumblr purge it's available on yomi-gaeru's pixiv account.

The next few hours, Sakura spent at the entry to the hideout, staring into the sky. All her muscles tensed to the point of hurting. Evening came, then night. She came back into the hall, started a fire. How long? How long would stopping a war take?

Madara was finding out that quite long indeed. When he came back to the battlefield, the first thing he had to do was to get Obito out of trouble. But he was confronted with such a fury of attacks from Naruto and Sasuke that it cost him enough just to stand on his own.

He would stop the war, but not as a defeated party. He would first bring them to their knees. But that was proving to be increasingly difficult, especially now when he couldn't go for lethal blows. It was good that his opponents didn't notice it yet…

.

.

.

Sasuke, frozen in a jutsu, was hanging mid-air, Madara's katana drawing blood from his chest. Naruto laid unconscious a couple of meters away.

Not lowering his sword, Madara turned away from Sasuke.

"This is over. This war is over. Gather your wounded and go."

With full force, he swung Sasuke's immobilized body at the lying Naruto.

"Reverse Kuchiyose." Gedo Mazou disappeared, having shocked Obito landing next to him.

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly.

"I am ending the war. There will be no Tsukuyomi."

"Madara!" The rage and utter despair in Obito's roar almost scared him.

"Obito. Will you disobey?" Madara plunged his eyes into the younger Uchiha. For a very long while, Obito held his gaze. A threateningly long while. Until he finally dropped his head.

"Retreat."

"Wait!" Naruto scrambled in the dirt, fighting for every breath. "Sakura… Where is Sakura?"

If he doesn't respond he would have the brat on his heels from now until he actually succeeded in his 'rescue mission'.

"She is fine. Wait for her in Konoha."

"How should I trust you?!"

"That's your problem."

It took all his mental power to go through it. To destroy the work of the last decades with his own hand. All that he dreamt of, all he believed in, his meticulous creation, all done for. And what now? He felt like a shell again, like then when he lost to Hashirama. Or even worse – because now he has lost to himself.

But depressive was not what Uchiha Madara's reaction was. It was fury, a bloody rage. He craved for an opponent to fight and beat, to tear apart with all the cruelty penned up. Of all the emotions, only hatred remained. He wanted the blood to flow, to strike and kick to exhaustion, to lose himself in the battle. The only thing where he found true abandon. To forget what just happened. What he did.

He entered the hall. Sakura was already standing in the middle. Her eyes opened with fear when she saw him. He looked like a demon. Yet he came back, chose to live, chose life. And now in this hall, life was her. She must make him feel alive again. Drag him away from death and the mirages he was drowning in. Sakura straightened her arms to the sides.

"I'm here."

All her instincts told her to run but she fought this urge. She cannot move away from him now. She must be with him even if he scares her to death, even if he poses a real threat. He looked as if he was still on the battlefield, triangulating an enemy to attack. She needs to show him that she is on his side no matter what. That she accepts him, together with all his demons. Words won't reach him. Without taking her eyes away off the spinning Sharingan, Sakura opened her vest. She loved him, she had to remind herself. Somewhere, there was the man she loved. It should make it easier, even if it wasn't about her love or desire now. It was a declaration. Very deliberately, she undid her chest bindings to stand topless in front of him.

She stretched out her arms, turning them so that the inner parts were facing him. A gesture of surrender more than love or seduction. It was about showing loyalty and conviction for her. About partaking in the most death-defying, death-negating act that there is for him. If only he goes along with it…

He moved towards her in long strides, he looked like he was attacking. She didn't move. She cannot offer any resistance, cannot put any walls between them now. He was battle-crazed, half mad, she knew that much, so he will probably hurt her. But it would be much worse to move away.

He pushed her on the ground. Not like then, in the dream, when he swiftly maneuvered her on hands and knees on the training ground. He just shoved her two meters away and if it wasn't for the wall she hit, it would have been an additional two at least. Her knees were bloodied and it hadn't even really begun.

She saw him coming. He was undoing his armor, opening his pants. Oh, good, they were getting the similar idea about what was going to happen here… Alternative to her getting killed on the spot, for example.

Sakura turned, still on her knees, him right next to her, his manhood exposed. Before he could shove her again, she reached to his cock, grabbed it, put her mouth around it. She remembered how to do it from the dream, but still it was different. She was about to move her head and hands when he thrust with full force. Instinctively she jerked back, but Madara held her hair and pulled. He was holding her head tightly now, moving it as if it didn't belong to her. The thrusts were going much too deep to be comfortable. It wasn't pleasant, far from it, but she could feel his lust, sense the pleasure she was giving, and it made her… warm inside? Sakura touched his thigh – it was so hard she couldn't believe it was flesh. She pulled him towards her, encouraging him to go further, even if there was nowhere further to go. His thrusts went even more wild. And then after a particularly strong one he didn't withdraw himself. Sakura felt his cum, tried to swallow it, managed to only long seconds later when he finally moved away.

Madara pulled her up, pinned her against the wall. When he tore her pants off her, his hand brushed along the kunai holster on Sakura's thigh and stopped there. He took the kunai out. She glanced back – he was weighing the kunai in his hand… And put it against her back. Sakura felt a line lazily drawn up along her spine – hard enough to hurt, not deep enough to draw blood.

"Do it. If you need it – do it."

Kunai stopped between her shoulder blades.

"Whatever it is you need now, just do it. I'm here."

She pressed against the blade. He didn't move it away. She pressed harder - the blade pierced her skin. It started to move, cutting downwards in a curve. The blade went across her spine and up again. Sakura gathered her hair out of the way. Not that they were really in the way, they were far too short for that. She just wanted… to state her participation. In cutting that Uchiha crest into her skin.

Finished. A thud of kunai burying in the wood. Sudden cold on Sakura's waist where his hand had been. And a jolt of most awkward sensation when he licked the crest. He licked lower down her spine, and lower still along the trickle of blood. The shivers were growing stronger, traveling from her heels to the places behind her eyes. Adrenaline rising, but not only the adrenaline. Just a bit more and maybe she can even enjoy it. She felt so acutely conscious of everything now. Of air entering her lungs, the pattern on the stone wall before her, the sound of her own pulse. Madara was almost kneeling behind her. A bit more, just a bit more…

He stood up abruptly, kicked her legs open. His cock was pushing against the entrance.

Ready or not, here it comes. Sakura stared intensely at the stones millimeters from her eyes. Arched her back to ease the entry, held her breath.

'Thud!' Dust from the crushed wall bit her eyes as Madara's fist landed just away from her face.

Not good. Not good at all. Sakura froze, moved her eyes to focus them on the fist next to her cheek. The cracked crater was marked with blood. His blood this time. _'Blood and blood all over again. Why does there have to be so much blood in this joining?!'_

Slowly, Madara's hand moved. He was stretching his fingers until it was just a palm pressing against the stone.

"Not like this." His voice was rough, cracked, as if his throat was all scorched. "Not like this. I will not disregard you like this."

He paced towards the door at the end of the hall.

"Heal that, dress and come."

Sakura felt shell-shocked. What had just happened? Where did all that blood lust and rage dissipate? He got it under control finally? He seemed angry, but with a normal human emotion now. Was he angry at himself?

Sakura felt suddenly very conscious of her state. Hurrying towards him she picked up her vest, started putting it on…

"I said heal it!"

"No." She bit her tongue too late. She would never want to erase the memories of that moment. The moment they both danced on the tip of that knife. One of these moments when the shape of your life gets decided. Sometimes you recognize those only years later. She lived through this one with full consciousness. And it was what was terrifying about it, not the kunai on her back.

"I mean, I don't mind it, really. I want to keep it." He gave her a very strange look. "Does it bother you? Will it upset you when we… when I undress?"

"No, it won't. But you're getting a more appropriate crest."

He disappeared in the darkness of the corridor. Sakura hurried, pushing her skirt downwards. Futile effort; her bottom was showing without doubt.

She could hardly keep up with his pace when he was going through seemingly endless corridors. Fortunately, he had to stop sometimes to find the way, which was when she could catch up. He seemed calm enough though. Actually collected and focused on the task.

"Where are we going?" Sakura decided to risk a question.

"To get married."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yomigaeru's amazing art:
> 
>  
> 
>  


	12. Chapter 12

As he walked down and down through the winding corridor, Sakura struggled to follow. Finally, he stopped in front of some door, held it open for her.

"These are the women's quarters. You will find a bath there. And clothes. And whatever a woman needs before a wedding, I suppose… Be ready in an hour."

Sakura entered the room.

One hour to the wedding. Actually, she never considered such possibility. That sounded so… civilized. Especially in contrast to what happened between them mere minutes ago. The change of vibe took her aback; this wasn't the Madara she really knew. It was Uchiha Madara the clan leader, she supposed. But whoever he was now, it didn't matter, it meant he decided on leading a life and that alone was good. It was so good that she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. So she did both. Weeping with relief, Sakura felt a huge burden disappearing from her chest. "It is going to be… somehow; no matter how but it will BE. There will be a future for us all."

She only hoped he wouldn't come to regret his decision, that he will not get betrayed and disillusioned once more. But this was what she was here for. She will never let it happen again.

She looked around. The room was dim, with folding walls that opened into other spaces. Lots of rooms, lots of spaces. Lots of people used to live here. Surely built and used even before Madara's times. During times of power and glory of the Uchiha clan. Did he want to come back to those times? Restore the clan? Rebuild the compound as she screamed out at him?

She didn't know… So far, he said he wanted her as a wife… So she'd better start preparing. If this was supposed to be the beginning of the Uchiha clan revival then she should be up to the task.

She located the bath. It was very old-fashioned like everything here, looked more like an onsen. The water also smelled like one from a hot spring, but at least it was halfway warm.

Now her wounds started to hurt. She stepped out of the bath. She was more injured than she realized; she must have gotten quite a few hits when she had pushed through Zetsu's army. She healed them, healed her torn knees, healed the bite on the neck she didn't even remember receiving. She dammed and clotted blood from the crest. She turned around in front of a large mirror examining her skins for flaws. Then it got her – she was trying to make herself beautiful. When was the last time she put any effort into it? When Sasuke was still in the village? Four years ago? Five?

Sakura found the dressing room. All kimonos were, not surprisingly, dark: black, dark blue, purple, very deep red. Nothing white or even bright. But then, it wouldn't even fit the place and circumstances. And shinobi girls weren't usually wearing white anyhow – more often they went for colors associated with the clan, or, for the lack of it, with their own image. Finally, after lots of browsing she decided on a dark green kimono with a pattern of naked branches with unopened buds. They were plum blossoms, she suspected, but there will be no Ino here to tell ume from sakura. There will be no Ino on her wedding… How can it even be…?

Obis were more varied; she chose a bright crimson one. Now she only needed to dress herself. She created a clone and after they were done with it all she felt completely exhausted. The chakra swirls in her belly were pulling, reminding her of her diminishing chakra reserves. They should probably hurry with the wedding night; these things needed substance to latch on.

She dispersed the clone and went to do her hair. Not much to be done with hair so short, but she managed a top-knot secured with two long hairpins. Make-up was not preserved as well as the kimonos. Finally, she found a red varnish that didn't smell odd. She disinfected it, and the lip brush, twice. When she applied it, she looked older. A woman, not a girl. But she guessed it was the whole point. She will be a married woman in a moment, wife to head of the clan…

She heard someone open the door in the first room.

"This is your marriage contract. There wasn't much precedence of outsiders marrying into the clan, let alone to the clan leader… I thought… Maybe you should read it before you come."

The door closed again.

She hurried into the outer room. An ancient-looking scroll was lying next to the entrance as if Madara didn't even step in. Sakura knelt on the floor. She somehow felt she shouldn't be standing while reading it… She carefully unwound it. The calligraphy was exquisite; she started reading, folded it back again…

Well, more like a feudal allegiance vow crossed with a purchase agreement. But what was she expecting. She wondered how the man's part looked like. Somehow, she didn't have a good feeling about it. The vow obliged her to absolute loyalty – only as expected. A woman from a different clan, keeping her loyalties would have been a ticking time bomb.

But the vow didn't specify that she will have to fight Konoha or the Senju or anything like this. It was very generic, to follow the husband's cause. So she will only need to make sure that her loyalties will not be in conflict with his. Or rather, if she signs it, that her own past and present loyalties are not colliding. _'Oh,_ _Kami-sama_ _. Don't_ _ever force me_ _to fight Naruto.'_

It will all depend on Madara from now on. But then, it depends on him anyhow as he commands seven out of the nine tailed beasts. If he decides on war, then war it will be. Only, if she signs the marriage contract she could convince him through this action to put faith in people again. To start build anew. He was betrayed so many times – by his own family when they attacked Hashirama, by the Nidaime plotting behind his back, by his own clan and in the end, in Madara's mind probably by Hashirama as well when they fought in the Valley of the End.

And then she tried not to think so much anymore. She sat there on the floor, feeling two tiny whirlpools suckling on her Yin seal. She thought that everything will be alright, remembered the days in the dream when she came to the realization that she loved him. She reminded herself that apart from all this gore, destruction and high stake game she just played, she was in love. And remembering how Madara looked on these rare occasions when he smiled, she finally felt it – the excitement of a bride before her wedding. And now she couldn't wait.

With a short knock, it was Obito who opened the door.

"It's time," he said, looking not at her but in her general direction. Hating her? Not allowing himself to stare at the bride of his leader? Sakura was looking though. He looked miserable, battered, almost dusted with dangerously low chakra levels. Apparently fighting Naruto and Sasuke was not an easy task. That made her a bit relieved.

Obito led her through the corridors.

The underground shrine he led her in was dark despite the torches. On the walls she saw wild, stylized murals. She recognized Sharingan patterns, the Kyubi and some Tengus. Or were these Susano'o's? She realized that Susano'o actually had the form of a Tengu… She never thought about it before. Funny that she would be thinking such peculiar things seconds before her marriage…

Madara stood before the altar, dressed in black formal kimono with a tiny symbol at the back. And two on the sleeves. And two on the front, she saw when her turned to her. Cannot be more formal than this.

Sakura squeezed the scroll tighter. Obito gestured for her to step forward. The Tengus were staring. She gulped.

She looked at Madara. He was even more serious than usual, no smile whatsoever. Pity, she would need some encouragement here.

Madara turned to her, opened the scroll.

"I, Uchiha Madara accept this woman into my clan, into my household, into my bedchamber and into my affections. I vow to protect her, shelter and cherish her, to hold no other woman above her and to sire my heir on her."

He bit his finger and made a mark on the parchment. So that was it, now came her part. She wanted it to come out calm and confident but this wasn't happening.

"I leave my clan, I leave my household, I leave my family to join myself with Uchiha Madara. His clan will be my clan, his brothers will be my brothers, his friends will be my friends, his foes will be my foes. My heart will be his and all my children will be his."

So there, she spoke it. The vow that didn't even require her mentioning her name. Only her bloody signature.

Madara straightened up, as if talking to the crowd.

"Hereby I, Uchiha Madara accept this woman as my principal wife." He took the scroll from her, rolled it together with his and placed it on the altarpiece.

Obito handed him some bundle. Madara offered it to her with a ceremonial gesture. It was another kimono, a black one.

"You should go change, before the final bow to the gods," prompted her Obito quietly.

In a tiny closet next door, she changed as quickly as possible with help of two clones. It cost her much too much energy than she was be happy to spare. Hurriedly, she dumped her kimono on the ground. The new one was in Uchiha colors, the fan was on the back, where the bloody one already was on her skin. And lower, the pattern… it was a night landscape in the white light of the full moon. White moon, not red. No Tsukuyomi. Her victory. She wondered if this was Madara's intention?

She re-entered. When she aligned herself with Madara, he smiled. A true, genuine smile as if he was happy to see her. She was so ridiculously grateful for this smile.

They knelt, bowed their heads to the ground, Obito spoke some words about ten thousands gods witnessing their union and that was it. She was married.


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura leaned against the closed door. Her breath was doing funny things to her, as if every portion of air entering her lungs was making her more and more drunk. Madara stood at the other end of the tiny room. More a cell than a room; there was nothing but tatami on the floor for furnishing. Was it his room back then? When he was young?

"So, what now?" He cocked his head with such a boyish smile that Sakura was suddenly sure that it was indeed the case.

His whole demeanor was becoming more like the one she knew from the dream. That of a young man, not burdened by tragedy and responsibility yet. The man she met and knew.

"I don't know…" Sakura smiled back a bit sheepishly. No need to act tough anymore, he will take the lead anyway. And now he won't hurt her.

"How 'bout you coming over here?" Sakura couldn't stop smiling. He was as she remembered. She wanted to run, not walk towards him. She reached to stroke along his arm – he was here, flesh under her fingers, dream turned reality. She closed her grip for a moment.

Madara spun her around to gain access to the knot of her obi. He slowly undid it, the robe sliding down her shoulders. He traced patterns along her arms, along her bare sides, around the wound on her back, carefully not touching it.

"Why did you let me do this to you?"

"I wanted… I wanted to show you that no matters what happens I am in it with you. For you…" She paused. "Why did you stop?"

"So that I won't have to apologize to you. I've told you, you'll never hear it from me again."

Sakura turned to face him again, pulled him towards her, but he stayed where he was and kept tracing lines on her. Around her breasts, down her belly… Familiar pressure was building even from these slightest touches. Sakura reached to his belt; she wanted to feel his skin as well, to have her heart skip a beat.

Why was he so careful, so uncharacteristically slow? Was he trying to live up to her girly expectations? 'You don't need to... I don't have any expectations… I don't expect anything from you. Just come…' Sakura closed up the gap between them. And then they stepped and stepped, until Sakura felt her heels touching the sleeping mat. She lowered herself on it, opened her legs.

_'He is looking...'_ His Sharingan was activated, Mangekyo even. "How do you see me through it?"

"You shine. You dim the torches."

Madara knelt in front of her, kissed her knee, kissed her inner thigh. Put fingers in her, opened her up. She almost jumped when he licked her there. He dug his fingers into her, entered her and still there was no pain, no scream, not even a gasp. There was nothing in her that offered resistance.

Sakura stretched her arms to pull him to her but he stayed where he was, straightened up before her _. 'He wants to see it. To see it happen to me for the first time. And it's happening any moment now.'_ Pity he was so far because she would really need to bite onto something. Now she will have to bite onto her own fingers.

When she was done he pulled her on his lap. Finally, she could touch him as well. She wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly, dug her hands in his hair. Hanging onto him for support. She was moving as hard as she could, trying to find and keep the rhythm, put all her strength into it. Then he grabbed her legs stronger than before, spread them even wider and pushed so deep that it hurt. And for the shortest moment she could see it as well. See him vulnerable and defenseless. Only she out of all the people can see him like that. Can make him become like that even if it was just for a split of second… They both breathed heavily; face to face, nose to nose.

Madara grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of her head and Sakura gasped. And then he kissed her. A violent kiss into her open mouth, as if he was trying to bite her. Sakura would have jerked back in surprise if not for his hand in her hair. They never kissed before, not even once. She never kissed anyone in real life either, so she really didn't know what to do and could only try responding to him.

She felt him stiffen again inside her. He let go of her hair to grab her behind and started pushing into her. Each thrust almost hurt and she had to gasp over and over again into that kiss that just kept lasting. In the end it was her who broke it because she had to scream. Then he flipped her on her belly and just kept going until she really wanted it to finish because it cost too much energy to stay solid under him.

When he got up from the mat and went to find his clothes, Sakura wasn't really surprised. There was no way he would stay, he never did… But then, he picked up her kimono as well and covered her with it. Now, that was unexpected… And very considerate – she was getting cold already and there were no covers.

"Make sure you get pregnant from this. It's not as if you have a month to spare with these things." He nodded towards lower half of her body.

He apparently believed his job was done. Sakura threw him a rather stricken look.

"Oh come on, you can do it. I know what kind of control you have over your body…" He paused and when he spoke again, he sounded concerned. "Good luck with it…"

"Maybe… I can come back later? When you're done?" he added from the door. He sounded so uncharacteristically unsure that Sakura just had to smile. She nodded her enthusiastic support for the idea. And when he left, she rolled onto her back and laughed.

Then she straightened flat and started to gently pump chakra into her organs. It was good that she was still in the first half of her cycle; she didn't need to work against the current here. She only had to speed it a bit up. And make sure it will be twins… Sakura concentrated and focused the flow of her chakra.

* * *

She must have fallen asleep because she found herself again in the Uchiha compound. They were standing in the middle of a yard, and Madara was looking at her with such bewilderment, as if there was something in her that he had never seen before. Something that held his attention long enough to make him recalculate.

"I guess I have gravely underestimated you," he said at last with a smirk.

She reached her hand out to touch him but her fingers went through. Needles of adrenaline poked through her palms.

"What's happening?!"

"I guess whatever it is," he gestured around, "it's dissolving."

"Why?!"

"I don't know. Maybe because we've met in real life."

"Maybe because you changed your mind. Changed your heart."

She tried grabbing him and this time she succeeded, interlaced her fingers with his.

Madara shook his head. "Either the way, it's all over. Have you ever wondered why it all happened?" he added after a moment of silence.

"Mercy. It was a mercy." She didn't know where this thought came from, so bright and sharp as a blade.

"I never deserved it."

"That's the whole point of mercy. Those who need it don't usually deserve it. It's granted undeserved."

She didn't really know why these conclusions came to her now. But she was no longer afraid to talk about such things with him.

Madara rested his forehead against hers.

A patter of little feet from the side, approaching. Children's laughter from behind the wall. Sakura turned but no one was there. When she looked back to Madara he was again on the porch. Sakura shook her head in disbelief – it couldn't be that he moved so fast. She turned, looking around and noticed that the courtyard had changed. They were now on their sparring grounds. When she glimpsed back in his direction, Madara was walking across the training field, sand marked with signs of fighting. Sakura dug her feet into it; it was warm and making its way inside her sandals.

"Is it enough now?" Madara asked.

"What is enough?" It was so hard to concentrate. Instead of answering she spun around, following the pattern in the sand. Her vision got blurry, and Madara was suddenly right next to her. He took hold of her arms.

"Here," said Sakura. "It was right here." And she was not sure herself what was she referring to: their first fight, or the one when he first took her. Was the sand that warm also back then? Her head was spinning. She spread her feet apart to maintain her balance.

"Don't you feel it?" he asked as if he didn't hear her remark.

Sakura tried her best to focus through the haze in her mind. "Feel what?"

"It's fading. The dream is fading."

Sakura closed her eyes.

* * *

When she opened them back, all was black. And she couldn't breathe, because there was nothing, just absolutely nothing around her. She strained her eyes, trying to see an outline where her hands should be, but there was only blackness. She was suffocating. Concentrating all of her willpower, she opened her mouth and inhaled. And then once again. Air entered her lungs. With all the willpower she had, she coerced her brain to perform a logical operation: if she was breathing then at least there was air around her, not just black nothingness. She forced her senses to work and realized that she was sitting. She was about to move when a grip on her arm made her heart jump.

"Awake as well?"

Fighting through her racing heartbeat she felt like grasping at mooring rope – this voice belonged to Uchiha Madara and this one piece of information made the scattered pieces of her consciousness finally fall together. She was in a cell in the Uchiha hideout, the war was over and she was married. She grasped blindly at her side, trying to get an idea about where he was lying.

"Shh, calm down. It's over now."

She found him, rolled onto her side to embrace him. "I know… Why am I so shaken then?"

"It was a rough waking up process. For both of us."

"Do you want to try sleeping again?"

Madara manoeuvred her so that she was lying on top of him. "I think I'd rather do something else…"

* * *

When she finally found the kitchen – finally, because Madara's 'end of the corridor' didn't specify the corridor being hundred meters long and bifurcating twice – she almost walked backwards out of it. As Obito was sitting at the table in front of a non-started cup of tea. And he lifted his gaze to her. For the first time actually, as yesterday he was carefully avoiding her eyes.

_'Ah, so that's how it feels… That's how it feels like when someone just hates you so much_ _'_. It was never the case for her before. Even enemies didn't hate personally; they confronted her, tried to kill her but there was never much emotion in it. Here, there was. And it felt awful.

Sakura felt guilty. Even if for the whole world it was a reason to rejoice, this one person here was truly grieving. And she didn't have anything to offer him in the stead of his loss. She knew parts of his story from Kakashi-sensei and heard about his motives from Naruto after the two had fought. Obito desired the Tsukuyomi, dedicated whole his life to developing it, wanted to meet his lost love inside it… Wanted to be a hero. She took it all away from him, not giving anything back. _'I carry a grave sin against this one_ _'_.

She forced herself to enter. Took a cup and a teapot, put them on the table, sat down. Poured herself some tea. Sat there, looking inside her cup as he was. All the mysteries of the world were hidden in that bowl of tea, weren't they…?

"You don't know me and I don't know you, Obito-san. Yet, what I did caused you great pain. I am sorry. I know it doesn't change anything, but I truly apologize for hurting you like that. I don't expect you can ever forgive me and I probably cannot do anything for you, but I truly hope and wish that one day your pain will lessen." Sakura drank a bit. Put the cup down, looked inside it. Obito's hands were around his cup, as if he was trying to warm them up. Only that his tea was surely cold by now. "I understand that you hate me, you have every reason to. Nevertheless, you are my family now." She drank some more. The cup was warming her fingers.

* * *

It was not even a conscious thought, just pure instinct that made him spin. Too late though. The enemy's hand had impaled his chest. But not too late to catch a glimpse of yellow pupil-less eye. A glimpse was enough; the black humanoid form was now twisting on the ground and losing its shape, rounding at the edges, becoming more and more sphere-like.

It wasn't helping Madara much though – he was bleeding extensively and each breath was a fight for his life. Black Zetsu has missed his heart by millimeters, only because he moved to look back. He managed to destroy his left lung completely though and ripped a hole through in his chest. Madara fell on the ground. Hashirama's cells held great regenerative power but this was too brutal of an injury; they could never keep up with it. Blood was flowing and forming a coherent thought was getting difficult very quickly. He could not get up anymore. But still, he could do something. He turned his head and looked into Black Zetsu's eyes, making the Tsukuyomi, the creature was already under, completely impenetrable.

When Madara woke up, he was lying flat on the kitchen table. Sakura's face framed in soft green glow loomed at the periphery of his vision. She was so focused, effort stiffening her features. Madara wanted to say something but no words came out.

"Stay put. I still need time here." Her voice was all control and professionalism. The tears rolling down her cheeks were not. After some time, she wiped them into the fabric on her shoulder, took a deep breath and spoke again, "I'm rebuilding your lung. It's amazing what these cells can do, I just have to stimulate them and guide their growth. Otherwise it almost doesn't require external chakra." Sakura paused. "You know that it was very close to the heart, don't you? He wanted to kill you on the spot. He almost did." Tears started to flow again.

Madara managed to move his hand; he brushed against whatever part of her he could reach.

"He didn't in the end. No one gets my back."

"He almost did. It's all different now. Now if something happens to you… I mean… you don't belong only to yourself anymore. Also to me…"

He never thought about it like that. It was clear that she belonged to him, she did for months in the dream world, but the other way around…? She might be right about it though. But most importantly, he had to protect her.

"Hurry and patch me up. I need to take care of this creature."

"You cannot walk yet!"

"That thing is extremely dangerous. And as long as I don't know its motives…"

Madara spent the next few days mostly in the chamber, where he closed the oblong shape that Black Zetsu reverted to. Even when he would go out, he would leave a wood clone to have his eyes on the creature. Once, Obito came in and when he left the room, he looked completely shell-shocked. Sakura didn't see him afterwards for days.

And regardless of whether Madara was inside or not, Black Zetsu kept screaming, shrieking in a most horrible way, never stopping. When Sakura asked him why it was the case, without batting an eye, Madara answered that he was being tortured. When two days later she asked if he got what he wanted from the creature already, Madara only laughed.

"Oh, I got it all out from him some time ago already. And I couldn't believe it myself. Apparently that thing was manipulating me from the beginning, acting on behalf of some ancient power that I heard about only from myths. He made me believe the Tsukuyomi was a salvation for mankind while in reality it was just a means to gather all chakra in one place. For the purpose of the revival of that ancient power. He used me. So, now I am taking my revenge."

"What will you do?"

"I will keep him like this. He will not die, he's immortal. I will keep him suffering for as long as I feel like it. And maybe he can become useful as a bargaining chip later."


	14. Chapter 14

"Naruto! Sasuke! You're to report in Hokage's tower immediately!" An ANBU materialized at the training ground where they were sparring.

"What happened?"

"Sakura-san, she has returned!"

Hearing the door crack open, Sakura turned away from Godaime and Rokudaime. She was immediately caught in an embrace.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright, are you fine?"

"I'm fine." She hugged him as tightly as she could. "Are you?"

"Yeah, now I am. We were dead worried about you. He said that you will come back and then you were not coming back, and…"

"But now I am."

"Yes, you're back, you're back." Naruto unglued himself from her, held her in outstretched arms, looking at her critically. She didn't look very well, as if a bit emaciated on the face. Maybe it was because of this black kimono she was wearing or maybe because her hair was longer than usual…

Sakura noticed she was under observation. Sasuke had a scrutinizing expression on his face as well. She turned back to the Hokage. She would talk to the boys later, make up for all the lost time. Explain everything, explain herself. But now she was in the middle of a mission.

"He wishes to come back to Konoha, to re-establish the Uchiha clan in the place it has always belonged. I should draw your attention to the power he is currently governing. Konoha would benefit immensely by having access to this power. And be at a disadvantage… by not having it… But this is not a threat. It is an offer of alliance. And as a sign of his good will and pure intentions, Uchiha Madara sends his wife and heir to reside in Konoha until these negotiations are completed." Sakura bowed deeply in front of her superiors.

Tsunade jerked her head, smashed an open palm into the wall she was leaning against. "Kuso!" Kakashi stayed motionless and silent.

"He?! Sakura-chan, I didn't know Madara had a wife…"

"Oh, Naruto…" Sakura felt a grimace twisting her face. He will take it worst, she knew it beforehand. She stepped towards him, held his hand in both of hers.

He was ripped from her grasp by a pull from the back he got from Sasuke.

"Dobe. We're going."

"No, wait! Sasuke, don't!" The red fury of the Sharingan swept over her. "It's not like that…" She grabbed Sasuke's sleeve. "He never… He didn't…"

"Sakura-chan… what are you talking about…?" Naruto said very slowly. The corners of Sakura's mouth fell down.

"Naruto. I'm married. And I'm pregnant…" Tears appeared in Naruto's eyes, he shook his head in denial. "But it's ok, it's alright…" She was speaking softly as if talking to a very small child. "He didn't force me, he never did anything bad to me. Nothing happened that I didn't want myself on first place."

Naruto looked at her in disbelief.

"How could you have wanted it? How CAN you even want it?" He made a broad gesture at her form. At her black Uchiha kimono, at her waist that, he could see now, was thicker than usual.

Sakura neared and embraced him. "There is a good explanation to it all, believe me. Just believe me for the time being…"

Naruto closed his arms around her. He should have always held her like this, should have never let her go. If he had held her he would have protected her, nothing like this would have ever happened. "I don't understand, Sakura-chan. I don't understand at all…"

"Ehem… speaking of explanations…" Kakashi decided to interfere. "Sakura, I will need a full report on your interactions with your… husband. Especially prior to that battle encounter."

"You will get it. He allowed it."

Tsunade arched her eyebrow. "Where exactly does your allegiance lie now, Sakura?"

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, took a deeper breath.

"I truly believe that, with your good will, it will remain with Konoha. As well." It didn't feel good to have all the eyes on her. But what else could have she said?

"Naruto, leave us. Wait for Sakura outside."

"But, Kakashi-sensei!"

"She will report to us. And then she will tell you everything you need to know. Everything she will want you to know. This is to respect Sakura's privacy as well…"

"And to keep you under control, brat," Tsunade added.

"O-baa-chan, how could you!"

"Naruto, guard the door. From the outside."

"Hey, that's a job for an ANBU!"

"Questioning orders from Hokage just because he happens to be your poor old sensei? Then let's just say that no ANBU is sufficient to guard the wife of Uchiha Madara… Naruto, go. Sasuke, you go as well. Make sure he stays behind this door…"

The door closed. Tsunade stepped briskly towards Sakura from under her window. Brushed her hair away from her face, held her chin up, stroked along her arm. And held her in the tightest embrace. "Child, what have you done?"

Sakura couldn't hold it anymore. "Tsunade-sama… I just…" She started crying. "I just found a man I wanted to be with…"

"Dobe. Stop this." Naruto was pacing there and forth along the corridor like a caged tiger. And Sasuke had his limits. Apparently in this case the limit was 57 corridor lengths.

"How can you just sit there? Aren't you nervous? It's all horrible; we don't even know if Sakura will be coming back for good! She is NEGOTIATING!"

"She'll manage."

"And she is married to Madara! Can you even believe it?!"

"I can. It was pretty visible that they fancy each other."

"Really? Do you think she loves him?" Naruto made a face an eight-year-old would when speaking about this 'disgusting love thing'

Sasuke shrugged "Certainly she doesn't look an unhappy victim."

"And he wants to come back here, restore the clan. I mean from one side I hope they agree because then Sakura will be here, but… Shouldn't you be doing it?"

"Like I care."

"But you were always saying you want to!"

"Yeah, when I was twelve. I guess I didn't realize that restoring the clan just means making bunch of kids." Sasuke stretched out his legs. "I wouldn't stand it. If by some strange happenstance I ended up with a wife and kids I'm sure I would arrange to be away on years-long missions. Preferably in a different dimension. If Sakura… if they want to do it, fine with me. I sure won't. I don't think I will be staying much in Konoha anyway after my probation is over."

Naruto hung his head down. For a moment he thought he finally got them back. Now it seems both were running away from him again. With Sasuke it was kind of familiar pattern. But Sakura – she was always there, she could not simply disappear!

The door opened.

"How did it go, Sakura–chan? How did it go?!"

"I don't know, let's see. They now know all they need to make a decision. They said they will consult with the elders. For sure there will be conditions to meet, I will be sending messenger birds to Madara for quite some time it seems." Sakura was visibly tired. Naruto put an arm around her waist.

"Sakura-chan, sit down."

"No, I think I need to go home and lie down. Why don't we go out to eat something in the evening?"

"Sure! I have a great idea! We can go to Ichiraku!"

"Where else…" sighed Sakura, half amused, half annoyed. Naruto still had his hands wrapped around her middle.

"Hey, you sure are a bit thicker than usual around here…" He patted her experimentally.

"I'm pregnant, you moron!"

"I know, I know! I just didn't imagine it will be showing already."

"It's the fourth month, and because there are two of them.."

"Two?"

Sakura nodded.

"And do you know already what it will be?"

"A boy and a girl."

Naruto glowed. "I'm going to be an uncle!"

"Hey, what happened to your scepticism?"

Naruto rubbed back of his head. "I don't know, Sakura… I mean, you're the most important person in my life and if you say you're happy… Then I can only also be happy. And these…" He gestured at her belly. "Are yours. Meaning I'm the uncle. No matter who the father is."

Sakura laughed. That wasn't really appropriate, what he'd just said, but she knew that he meant well.

"Can I touch…?"

"Sure you can, but you won't feel much. They aren't moving yet."

Naruto gently placed his hand on her belly. It was hard, he could feel that something was inside.

Sakura saw Naruto suddenly freeze with his eyes closed.

"Naruto! What is it?"

He opened his eyes and laughed aloud.

"It's Kurama! He's also excited to meet them. He likes them, the old fox!"

"What do you mean?" Sakura didn't know if she liked the idea of Kyubi taking interest in her children. Naruto was almost rolling on the floor.

"He said they smell good!"

"… Smell good? Like… tasty good?" Sakura sounded moderately cautious. With a hint of a threat in her voice.

"He, he! No! But now he won't tell me anything more. He's offended because I embarrassed him in front of you guys. Now he won't be talking to me for a week probably."

They reached Sakura's apartment.

"When should we pick you up?"

"At seven? I'll try to sleep a bit. I'm exhausted."

* * *

"Do you hate me now?" Sakura had a very suspicious look on her face when she was sitting opposite to him at Ichiraku. Naruto conveniently disappeared a moment ago announcing his bathroom needs to all who wanted and didn't want to hear it. "You have every right to…"

"No." Why would he hate her? What a ridiculous notion…

"I promised you undying love and then ran off with another. I don't have anything in my defense. I can only ask your forgiveness…"

"There is nothing to forgive." Sasuke really didn't understand her logic. If there even was a logic behind it. The topic she was babbling about was as good as non-existent for him. Sakura hung her head low. Clearly what he said didn't solve her problem. And Naruto lectured him extensively on their way to pick her up, how he was supposed to treat Sakura extra well now. When she was back and pregnant and all… Sasuke sighed. His idiot of a comrade made it clear that being supportive meant talking.

"You told me you love me once, when we were twelve. And even if you kept thinking about it all this time, I did not. And honestly it was never important to me. Nor did I have any plans concerning you."

Sakura's eyes were getting dangerously shiny.

"You owe me nothing. I was always grateful for your presence and I will be utterly grateful if you accept me as a teammate again. After all I've done."

"Of course I will! How can you doubt it?!"

Sasuke felt a smile appearing on his face. That's what she always was for him. Boundless acceptance. Home. He reached for her hand on the table.

"I am happy you found somebody else. Someone who could give you what I never could. Sakura, I am relieved. Because that what you wanted from me – I never had it and I don't have it now. I don't have anything to give…"

Sakura squeezed his hand. Two big tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You know, what you just said – it would have killed me before. And now it makes me sad, and because of you, not because of myself. Because of how you feel. And I am so, so sorry for you." Sakura paused, stared at the table between them. Or rather through it. "Now, I can finally feel compassion, be sorry for YOUR pain. Before, I was just selfishly wanting to get you. I could only see my own desire and treated you as a goal. Now, I finally see YOU. Now, it is real love." Sakura half sobbed, half laughed. "Now I am finally able to truly love you…"

She raised both hands to cover her face. Her shoulders shook from something that was most probably a laughter. "And look – I am even helping to rebuild your clan!"

"Teme! Did you make Sakura-chan cry?!" Naruto almost pulled him from the bench.

"No, he didn't! Naruto sit down already!"

"Are you sure about it, Sakura-chan?" She nodded. "I ordered for us all already." Naruto explained as Teuchi brought the meal. "Trust me with the choice – I'm an expert!"

And Naruto threw himself at his ramen bowl. Exchanging glances, Sakura and Sasuke began to eat as well.

"Ehem… don't you want me to explain, or something…?"

"If you want, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned from above his ramen. "Only if you want. You went through enough interrogation already today. I'm just glad that you're back and we can have this dinner together. All three of us." Sakura smiled. When it came to granting new beginnings to people, Naruto had no equal. And despite his overbearing ways, his social skills were really high. He knew exactly what she needed right now. Nevertheless, she owed them that story.

"Yes, I want to. I need to tell it finally. So… I know it will sound strange, so don't laugh… I first met him in a dream…"

Naruto's social skills met their abrupt end.

"No way, Sakura-chan! Do you have SUCH dreams!? I never suspected you're a per.."

"NARUTO!" Her blond team mate pre-emptively ducked under the table before she could reach him. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just ignore him. As I always do."

"Teme!" Roared offended Naruto from under the table.

"Hey, I am trying to tell you something important here!" Sakura realized too late that the sheer level of decibels just attracted the undivided attention of all of Ichiraku's clientele. Not exactly the effect she was aiming for…

"Sorry, sorry Sakura-chan! I'll be as quiet as a mouse." Naruto made a comical gesture of zipping up his mouth.

"So… I dreamt about him," Sakura continued after a small pause. "I watched him fight among the crowd of others until he saw me as well. He thought I'm an enemy, a mind-entering ninja Yamanaka-style or something. So at the beginning he was hostile. It was scary… But then I kept returning to the dream even if I tried to prevent it and so did he. And it felt as if we couldn't wake up for so long. For weeks on end… So… we had to cope with each other. We got to know each other. I started to understand why he was the way he was. I started accepting him, liking him… loving him… Then I got pregnant…"

"Hey, just like that? You dreamt that you suddenly were pregnant?"

"No. First we had sex, you know?"

"HA! I KNEW IT! So you have such dreams!"

"Naruto!" He didn't manage to escape the punch this time. Sakura had the impression he wasn't even trying particularly hard, he was so elated by his new discovery.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it…"

"I noticed…"

"And then?" Sasuke tried getting his teammates on the right track again. Thankfully, he still had Sakura's ear, otherwise this idiotic brawl would continue.

"And then the final battle came. And I saw him then for the first time with my own eyes. I don't even know why I ran to him. I couldn't even be sure back then if he dreamt the same dream… But I just couldn't help it. Rest you know – he took me to the hideout and somehow… I made him change his mind… He also dreamt about me, you know…" Sakura smiled as if she still couldn't believe it. "We married the same night when he came back again."

Naruto was pushing the last boiled egg around his ramen bowl. "Does he make you happy?" He asked very seriously. Very Naruto-unlike.

"Yes. Yes he does."

"Yosh! That's all I need to know!"

"What is he like?" A preciously rare thing – a question from Sasuke.

Sakura had to think a while. He wasn't asking about his fighting profile, she supposed. "He doesn't feel like he has to prove anything to anyone. Nor answer to anyone. So he does as he pleases. He is very… independent. There is very little pride or ambition in him – he doesn't care about those. Anymore, I suppose. He is fair and will admit a mistake and give you credit when you deserve it. He likes to have fun…" Sakura smiled. "Sometimes it feels as if it is his main motivation… He can be really mean… He was never cruel to me, but… he can be so…"

Sakura paused. She looked for words to describe this elusive vibe. "He has a charisma that makes you follow him. At least makes me follow… This sort of thing, you know, that when he enters a room full of people you have to look only at him…"

"Oi, Sakura-chan, you're in love!"

Sakura went red. "And what's wrong it that?! I'm married to him, I should be in love!"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong, don't get mad! It's just so cute when you say such things."

"Baka!"

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

They came on foot. In plain dark clothes, no weapons save the gunbai across Madara's back. Two silhouettes under scorching sun slowly pacing the road. It could be seen as humility. For anyone who had any idea though, it was evidence of power. They didn't need any display. They just needed to be.

It wasn't easy to make that happen. There were so many points to negotiate. They had spent days and weeks before she returned to Konoha going through different scenarios. Various versions, guidelines depending on terms already agreed upon; multiple, branching conditions. They had tried to cover all possibilities before she left. She was carrying it all in her head when she came to Konoha. She was also given quite a large room for independent decisions. Nevertheless, she had to contact Madara on several occasions. She had a scroll full of sealed messenger hawks, and she always took pains sending letters in presence of either Tsunade or Kakashi so that they saw that nothing additional was being coded into the message.

But step by step, they achieved a consensus. Obito was the easiest point. He didn't protest against any conditions of recuperation, probation and house arrest that Konoha requested. Sakura had the impression that if they had requested his head, he wouldn't have protested either. The man seemed to be living and breathing only out of habit.

Luckily, Madara himself technically didn't perform any act of aggression against Konoha. Openly, he fought in only one battle during the war and during this battle he stopped the war. And the Hokage was diplomatic enough not to dig into the details of his involvement in the Mugen Tsukuyomi plan. Sakura was utterly grateful for it, as she couldn't imagine Madara obediently coming to receive a punishment.

The tailed beasts were more of an issue. Sakura knew that Madara didn't care too much about them, but they were also both aware that the beasts were their strongest bargaining chip. And the final form of this condition was to define the power balance between the Uchiha clan and Konoha. In the end, they were set free with Madara holding a summoning contract with each of them. This was a point where Naruto argued very strongly on the side of the beasts. Madara was actually happy to oblige, claiming he was correcting Hashirama's mistake of caging them on the first place. So they all went free, after swearing non-violence towards humans. The only exception turned out to be Matatabi, who wished to be sealed in Yugito Nii's baby-daughter (claiming that in absence of the mother, it was her task to take care of the child) and Shukaku who wanted to return into Gaara.

The matter of Black Zetsu was of course a complete novelty to Konoha and it required lots of explanation. Madara's intentions regarding him were very clear. The Hokage needed some time to make up his mind, but this was actually a win-win situation for both sides. So, with all the issues settled, what was left was the public spectacle to put the event into a correct perspective.

Sakura, all dolled up in the most formal black Uchiha kimono, was standing among the crowd in front of the main gate. She was feeling funny, somehow restless, and it took a good deal of concentration not to be fidgeting around. She really shouldn't be doing it during this political display that she herself had orchestrated.

They were coming.

Sakura felt a strange clenching in her chest. And then another one lower, in her belly, sharp as a muscle cramp. The unfamiliarity of the pain that travelled through her rattled in her suddenly empty mind, but she didn't even twitch. She stayed perfectly motionless, the very picture of decorum. She could already see features of Madara's face. Sakura clenched her fist. Another burst of pain came but it didn't surprise her as much as the first one did.

Letting out a long exhale, Sakura separated herself from the crowd and started towards the coming Uchihas. It took quite some effort to make her steps steady and even, as the pain in her abdomen was coming now in sharp bursts. She felt blood flowing away from her face and she did her best to keep her expression calm. Madara was looking forward. In the very last moment, when she was almost about to turn and take place by his side, he moved his gaze for a split of second. "Are you alright?" There was no sound, only movement of lips. If she wasn't just a meter away she wouldn't have noticed. She wanted to embrace him, hold on to him, hide inside his embrace, but it was no time and place for any of her wants. She nodded, closing her eyes, forcing herself to ignore yet another pang of pain. When she turned, she saw the whole power of Konoha waiting for them.

A couple of steps later and they were there. Kakashi, in full Hokage garb stepped forward, extended his hand to Madara. Even though he was surely prepared for it, Madara halted for a moment. _'_ _He's remembering. He's done this, exactly this, already once before._ _'_ She wanted to give him some support, a bit of encouragement but with everyone staring at them, she couldn't. Finally, Madara grabbed Kakashi's hand. For Sakura's eyes it was a bit too fast, too strong. Maybe only for her eyes.

"Welcome back, friend. You have been missed." They stood there, holding hands. Kakashi so much younger, so much weaker, yet had the nerve to call Madara a long-gone friend. There was courage in these words. Courage of showing vulnerability, of accepting, of taking the first step. Sakura wondered if that was how the Shodai Hokage was - so unafraid to expose himself. Something Madara could never do, he always needed a friend to do it for him.

Kakashi turned to the people gathered before the gate.

"Village of the Land of Fire without the fire-wielding clan, Konohagakure no Sato without the one who gave it its name - we've been incomplete for far too long." Kakashi's words were resonating in Sakura in accord with the jabs of pain in her abdomen. "Out of this shortcoming, great tragedies arose. We have erred gravely against the Uchiha clan, as well as Uchiha clan against us. Today is a new beginning. Today Konoha takes the form it was always intended to have!"

There were cheers from the crowd. Sakura wondered how much of it was staged, how many of those applauding were actually shinobi following orders. The cheering gained momentum though when Naruto came up and embraced Madara. He startled, almost jerked away, stiffened as if preparing to attack. Ha, she should have warned Madara about her teammate's extroverted personality. Luckily, reluctantly but still, Madara in the end reciprocated the embrace.

* * *

The walk to the grounds allocated for the new Uchiha district was harrowing, but she made it. Being in motion was surprisingly helpful against the pain. The walk under the scrutinizing gazes of the villagers, that prevented them from any personal exchanges, she used to discreetly assess her condition. When she was waiting for Madara's arrival from the gates she was certain that those aches were inconsequential. Now she was becoming less convinced. The pains were coming remarkably regularly… But she wasn't planning on making a scene here. She could still endure and deal with it when all was done. This was the crowning of her efforts, the most joyful moment she could imagine – and Sakura wanted to rejoice.

"Mokuton!"

And now she was rewarded for her endurance - the sheer scale of what she was witnessing was amazing. Building after building kept popping out from the ground, spreading wide, forming… a compound from their dream. The original Uchiha compound.

The buildings looked reliable and stable; all the architectural elements seemed to be in place. Well, that was a huge improvement on Madara's side. Sakura remembered how at some point in the dream she demanded a kitchen table and chairs. And as long as the table took form rather quickly (and could even withstand their combined weights on a couple of interesting occasions), then the chairs required two weeks of trials and errors. Errors comprising of one of them landing on the floor among broken pieces. Apparently, there was a big difference between using a jutsu as a weapon and using it to create something lasting and functional. The power alone was not enough to create – one needed first to understand the blueprint of creation. And to build a house, Madara must have been practicing a lot while she was away.

They entered. Sakura and Madara knew the place already. For them it was peculiar, but on a very different level. For Obito and Sasuke though, it was completely new, probably even alien – they were born in the Uchiha district of Konoha, not much different from the rest of the village save for surrounding wall. Sakura wondered if they would like it – it being so unmodern and traditional. When she had asked Sasuke whether he wanted his home being rebuilt he denied so vehemently that he almost didn't sound like himself. Clearly there were too many horrible memories that he didn't want to awaken instead.

A sakura tree grew on the first courtyard - tall, with sweeping branches, heavy with still green fruit. Sakura came up to the tree, trailed with her fingers along the branch that was thicker than her wrist. _'_ _A fruit on a tree that never bloomed… What a miracle to see it fully grown and not to wait decades for it to develop from a sapling._ _'_ Sakura looked through the leaves on Madara. _'_ _What a miracle, I still can't believe it. I was here for so many months without him that I felt back the old Sakura, from before the war. This morning I was a regular me, now I am a wife of_ _the_ _mightiest man in the world and before this day ends I will hold his children in my arms - how is that not a miracle?_ _'_

And how is that not a greatest miracle of them all, that this man came to love me… Sakura gripped the branch of the cherry tree harder to prevent swaying. Under her skin the rough bark was warm and reassuring during the next contraction. _'But it did bloom. I saw it bloom when I dreamt.'_

The sound of running broke Sakura out of her thoughts. Naruto, accompanied by two shadow clones, barged into the courtyard. His clones were carrying bunch of undescriptive bundles with various pieces hanging and flopping around. Some smaller things fell out already; they looked like dirty socks.

"Hey, Sasuke, I packed your stuff since you're moving out!" Sasuke threw him a look that said all about what he thought about Naruto's packing skills. Naruto grinned in response, completely unperturbed.

"Find houses that would suit you. The place is big enough." Madara headed forward with purposeful pace. Surely, he knew where was a house that would suit him already; he had built it himself. Sakura hurried after him, turning her head to see what the others would be doing. They went as they were standing – Obito on the left, Sasuke and Naruto on the right. Sakura made a mental note to find them afterwards, invite them to eat together or something. They were the clan, but a clan so small that they must all be family to each other. She couldn't leave them alone on opposite ends of this huge empty place.

Yard after yard, all similar, all familiar. With every step the uneasiness was falling off from Sakura, with every yard she was more home. Every step was a step away from watchful eyes, from the outside world where they had to hold a façade. Every step was slower, every breath was easier. Yard after yard, so deep that no one will find them, now one will hear them.

Sakura felt a sudden urged to touch him. She grabbed his hand and interlaced her fingers with his.

"I've missed you."

Madara smiled in response. That was the equivalent to "I've missed you too" as far as Sakura was concerned.

Another wave of pain swept over her, strong enough that Sakura had to grasp Madara's arm to steady herself. And then sudden warmth spread along her thighs, a liquid running down her legs. Out of all the thoughts that could spring into her mind, the most absurd one appeared: "Here goes my most formal kimono." And with those words she became a dead weight.

"What's wrong?!"

"Ha.." Sakura fought to catch her breath. "Aah, I'm so sorry, I guess that's how much time alone we will get…" Her legs were giving away slowly but steadily. Now she was hanging on Madara's arm with more than half of her weight. Madara shifted and supported her by both elbows, lowered her to the floor. If she wasn't supposed to be focusing on something else, she would find his concerned face really amusing. "It's alright, it seems that it's unavoidable now. The birth."

"Isn't it too early?!"

"It is… But they seem to be in a hurry…"

Confusion never lasted long with Madara. "What should I do?"

"I need to go to the hospital. But I don't think I can do any walking. Anymore."

"Anymore?"

Sakura managed a small laughter.

"Ano… I already did some walking around today…"

Something akin to pride flashed on Madara's face – he must have understood what she was doing all day long. "Should I carry you?"

"I think not…'" Sakura was breathing heavily. "I don't want to be bent in any way right now… I wish I could just teleport…"

"Then let's have it." Madara crossed his fingers in a Kage Bunshin seal. Five clones sped out of the yard, while the real Madara gently pulled her up to her feet. "Only to the gate. Will you manage that?"

Sakura nodded. When they reached the compound entrance, which took a while because Madara had basically half carried her all the way, Obito was already there. Sakura had to smile – only now did she realize the purpose of reaching the gate – neither of the Uchihas had an idea where the hospital was so she herself had to point out the direction.

* * *

Their arrival introduced a good deal of stampede, but somehow, she was able to get into the ward. Mostly because she knew exactly where to go, as all the personnel were too terrified of Madara to be of real help.

In the delivery room nurses were bustling around her, checking her pulse, untying her obi. Rush was spreading on the hallway already as two younger medics were sent in search of Tsunade. "Check the garden! By the pond!" Sakura managed to shout after them. Hopefully they heard because otherwise they would waste a lot of time looking for her shishou in places that one would associate with working, while at this time of a day, Sakura knew Tsunade could only be working on a bottle of sake.

"Now would be the right time to leave." An elderly nurse stood in front of Madara, blocking his way to Sakura. Madara was looking down at her with a mixture of astonishment and speedily increasing annoyance. He was not used to such treatment. "Please leave," the nurse reiterated. "This is no place for a man." Sakura could only observe the annoyance changing into anger.

"I want him to stay!" she shouted out from her corner of the room.

"Sakura-san, we'll call him back right after it's done."

"No, he's staying, all the way through!"

The nurse turned to her. "Sakura-san, this is your first birth. Please believe me, when it's over you will be grateful that he wasn't here."

"But…"

"Don't worry, Yamanaka Ino is on duty in the paediatric wing and we already called for her. She will be here any moment."

Normally Sakura would have given another go at a firm but still polite discussion. But now she was too much on the edge. She had been bottling up everything, contractions included, all day long. And she didn't feel like holding back anymore. "He stays," she spat out. "And if he goes out, I go with him. And I will give this damn birth in front of the hospital."

The nurse stepped away, shaking her head in disapproval, right in time to make space for a bigger player as the Godaime Hokage herself stormed into the room. She passed by Madara, not sparing him even half of a look and marched up to Sakura.

"What's going on here? Sakura, are you sure it's already? How frequent are the contractions?"

"Uhm, shishou, I am sure…" Sakura gestured at the clingy wet under-robe that the nurses were currently peeling off of her.

Tsunade pushed her finely manicured fingernail between her teeth. "A bit too early," she said finally. "Alright, lie down and let's see it."

Sakura didn't like it. She hated being treated as a patient, hated being undressed and helped around. She was even helped to get on the table, as if she was unable to do it on her own.

"I'll just take a look what's going on. Then you can do whatever you want…" Tsunade bent to examine her. And immediately straightened up, slamming her palm against the examination table. Sakura had enough clarity to internally smirk at the completely inappropriate conduct against the patient. "How long have you already been in labour?! What were you thinking, not coming here earlier? Seriously, Sakura, you are a doctor yourself!"

"Shishou, but I'm here now and yelling won't change much, will it?"

"Tsk, impertinent girl…" But Sakura knew better than to be injured by her master's words. That what was glimmering in Tsunade's eyes was a real, authentic concern. "Alright child, it seems you're up to your task now."

Sakura climbed off the table, slowly walked up to the middle of the room and knelt down with effort. Her body was now giving her hints loud and clear enough. She wanted to plant her palms on the floor for support, but right then Madara moved from near wall where he was standing.

"Lean on me."

Sakura wound her arms around him. Not exactly the context she imagined reuniting with him in after their separation, but still she couldn't be more grateful for his embrace.

And it was also unsettling – to be putting their intimacy on such a display. Not how she wanted it to play out, and definitely not how he would want the others to perceive their relationship. Sakura could bet that he would never even touch her in public, and here he had to embrace her, in front of the room full of people.

Contractions were coming one after another now; she was barely finding time and strength to breathe properly in between of them. The effort was comparable to the one during the fight with Sasori's Hundred Puppets. And as back then, once she dealt with one adversary, another one was coming.

Sakura hung on to Madara with all her weight. She buried her face in the crook of his neck. And with all her strength, pushed one more time. Somehow, with every contraction she was thinking she had just given her all and there was nothing more to give. And then another one was coming, and another and each time she was discovering that there was still something in her left.

But with this one, something went different, looser, and she felt body of the newborn slipping out of her. She opened her eyes, straightened up in Madara's arms. When she wiggled out of his grip she noticed he was looking completely petrified, staring down behind her shoulder. Sakura turned and looked as well. Almost on the floor, Tsunade was holding a tiny, bloodied scrap of life. Red, wiggling and crying, her son was living his first moments. Tsunade placed him in Sakura's arms.

The girl in her womb was not willing to wait though. Sakura's eyes watered up.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I cannot stay with you now, my little one… O-kaa-san needs to help your sister out." She stroked boy's cheeks with tip of her finger. "You understand, don't you? You're a big brother in the end, my tiny, little one."

She stretched her arms with the baby towards Madara. He edged away, shaking his head. "It's ok, you can hold him."

Madara was looking as if he did not understand what she was saying. He was afraid to hold it. Him. His son. His son? His? Did he really make it happen? Made him happen? _'_ _He is so small, how should I hold him, I'll drop him! What if I drop him?_ _'_ Something akin to panic was rising in Madara's mind. _'_ _I don't know how. What if something happens to him?_ _'_

Shizune leaned towards him, gently bent his left arm, and then right one, guided the baby into his embrace. Madara closed his hand around his small body. _'_ _Gods, how is it possible?_ _'_

Sakura was watching. If she wasn't full of every other emotion already right now, she would be giddy seeing Madara freaked out by his own baby. She didn't manage to hold back the laughter – it came out mixed with tears. _'_ _See, it wasn't that difficult. Not difficult at all. Just stopping the war, negotiating peace,_ _a_ _couple of months_ _of_ _carrying and_ _a_ _couple of hours of labour. And that's it! Now he has what he was missing for decades. What he died not having – someone to live for._ _'_

She couldn't stop watching – it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. _'_ _I don't even want to blink…_ _'_ Madara was cradling the newborn. His limbs, his focus, all entwined, curving, centering around the child. No better place to leave the little one than in his own father's arms. And now she had to go on…

Another slice of pain went through her; Sakura dug her both hands into the floor as if in a mockery of a summoning gesture. _'_ _I wish I could just summon her here. Knows neither patience nor mercy, my little girl…_ _'_

Madara lifted his gaze to her. He wanted to hold her, to be her support during the second birth, as he was during the first one, but his arms were occupied with the newborn. Probably the first time in his life he was faced with a need to choose between two important people and he just couldn't.

Even through the pain, Sakura had to smile _._ _'_ _Poor one, he looks so confused. Like a shepherd dog trying to gather sheep that are running away all the different directions…_ _'_

"Madara, it's fine, just take care of him." She put her hand on one of his, holding the baby. "I'll manage just fine."

Madara shook his head. Could it be that love doesn't get divided, but multiplies? That there is suddenly more of it?

He shifted the boy more to his left, held him close to his chest. With his right arm, he grabbed Sakura so she was leaning against his side.

"It can still last hours… Will you manage like that?"

"I think I'm not the one who should be worrying that it will last…"

Sakura laughed. He was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During the revision, the plot has been somewhat streamlined, and I had Sakura go into labour immediately after Madara's return. This change deprived the newly re-established Uchiha clan of some much-needed, relaxed bonding time - I'm talking here about the "Breakfast on the floor" scene from original chapter 16 which doesn't fit into the plot anymore. But since I liked that scene at lot, I decided to post it as a separate omake-oneshot story.


	16. Chapter 16

The summer festival was loud on the streets of Konoha. Sakura could see it only through the hospital window, as Tsunade insisted on keeping the twins under observation. They came quite a bit too early and were rather small. And according to Tsunade, it would have been easier for her to adjust to taking care of them here, with all the nurses to help her around. That actually could have been the case – Sakura had hard time imagining the amount of multitasking the children would require. Especially if they choose to de-synchronize their waking and eating rhythms.

But today was the day they could finally go home. She was waiting impatiently but Tsunade was urgently summoned to Hokage's tower and then Naruto, who was hanging around annoying her all day long, got lost somewhere. And since Sakura knew how much he wanted to walk her home, she kept her nerves in reign and waited.

It was evening when Naruto finally re-appeared, along with Sasuke and a bundle under his arm.

"Where have you been all this time? Are you that bent on testing my patience?" She could have waited, but it's not like she would let it pass by without a comment. Naruto got somewhat smaller.

"I was at your place and brought you this… Since you missed the whole festival, we thought you could at least have a stroll through it…" The package he carried contained a kimono. Specifically, the blue one that she wanted to wear for the occasion.

Sakura looked with incomprehension at her teammate. "How did you know?!"

"He, he… Madara found it…"

"You and Madara were going through my wardrobe? Together? To find a dress for me?" That just sounded too ridiculous.

Naruto rubbed back of his head in embarrassment. "Kind of…"

"Well… then… Thanks!"

Sakura changed. The children had been ready for some time already. She was just trying to figure out how to carry both of them simultaneously when Naruto took one of the twins and handed her to Sasuke. Then grabbed the other one himself and grinned. "We'll carry them for you Sakura-chan!"

"Do you even know how to hold him?" Sakura heard her own voice reaching an unpleasantly high panic-pitch.

"Sure, I do! Trust me! We've been doing it for the whole month already, right?"

He was actually holding the little one with care. But how long can Naruto keep his focus? With Sasuke, she could be sure that he won't be doing anything rash, but Naruto…

"But no running! Or jumping around! And remember the head..."

"I know, I know. Sakura-chan, have a bit of trust!" Sakura only sighed.

Tsunade and Shizune joined them on the corridor. When they left the building, Sakura was surprised to see Kakashi-sensei together with numerous ANBU escorts.

"Would you mind if I walk you a bit? Such a special occasion – first children born to my precious student…And looking at these other two, I'll need to wait quite some time for the next ones…"

Sakura felt warmth spreading in her chest, she nodded her agreement.

The crowd was dense and the passage was narrower than usual as the festival stalls were lining the main street. In early evening, people were wandering aimlessly between brightly lid stalls. The air smelled with summer and was full of buzzing of cicadas.

To pass through, the ANBU went forward trying to clear up a path for their party. Sakura was at the front with Naruto and Sasuke flanking her sides. Behind her, Kakashi and Tsunade were followed by more and more of her friends who kept joining as they saw her coming. Ino was there, and Shikamaru, and Hinata, and Iruka-sensei…

"Make way!" Called the dog-masked ANBU as crowd started getting denser.

"Make way! Make way for Uchiha Sakura! Free the way for Sakura-sama!"

"Hey, Sakura!" She recognized a familiar voice – it was Kiba. "Congratulations!" He raised a sake cup towards her. Not his first one this evening, it seemed. Sakura waved back cheerfully.

"Hurray for Sakura-sama! The one that stopped the war!" It was Lee, going all over the board as usual, but Kiba picked it up, and Naruto as well.

"Hurray for Sakura!"

Voices from the crowd joined in. "Hurray for Sakura! Hurray for the one that stopped the war!"

"Make way for Uchiha Sakura-sama! Make way for the children!"

"Let us see them!" She recognized the voice, but couldn't see the face. "Let us see them! First Uchiha children in a decade!"

Naruto lifted up the little boy he was carrying. Holding him high in outstretched arms, he kept turning as he walked. Sasuke, a bit reluctantly, did the same.

"The names!" It was Kiba again. "What are their names?!"

Naruto stretched out his arms even higher. "Uchiha Gen!" he shouted out with all his Naruto energy. "It's Uchiha Gen, dattebayo!"

"And Yume!" Sasuke's voice cut like a knife through the rumble of the crowd. "Uchiha Yume!"

He looked at the tiny girl he held in his hands. How could it be that something so small will grow up to be a person? She was staring upwards as if she was gazing into the starry sky. 'She cannot even see them yet, she's too small… Or can she?'

"Make way! Free the way for Sakura-sama and the children!"

* * *

They were nearing the Uchiha compound. The closer they came to the compound, the more out-stretched their makeshift procession was becoming. People were still following Sakura, but they held more and more distance to her. Turning from participants into spectators. It was becoming her stage, her act, and all eyes were on her. 'I am the link to bind this clan to the village. Only through my actions can the people acknowledge him. Only through me he may look human in their eyes again. Not an ancient malevolent power but a man. Clan leader. Husband. Father...'

They reached the perimeter and Naruto placed Gen in her arms. Sasuke did the same with the girl a couple of meters further. Now she was walking alone towards Madara.

He was standing before the main gate, arms crossed on his chest, and perfect impassiveness on his face. Despite all the circumstances, Sakura wanted to giggle, because now she was able to see through this facade with no effort at all.

"Madara-sama," Sakura bowed as much as the combined burden of the twins allowed her to. "I present to you your children." Not that he had not been seeing them during their stay in the hospital. He had been practically living in her room, driving the nurses into permanent anxiety. But now, since her passage gathered such an audience, it was more than greeting his wife. It was accepting new members of the clan. Sakura raised her head and strained her voice to make it louder. "Gen and Yume!"

She crossed the last few meters separating her from Madara and placed the children in his arms. For the shortest moment, there was so much emotion on his face that Sakura's heart clenched with almost physical pain. But it was just a split of a second and he was back to his usual self. Maybe it was the distance from the crowd, maybe the darkness that was granting them some form of privacy, or maybe Madara just decided he didn't care. Whatever the reason was, he bent to her level and mischievousness glimmered in his eyes. "And how am I supposed to hold you when you're making my hands occupied with those two?"

Sakura laughed. "You don't have to hold me, you have me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small note to the children's names - "yume" is obviously "dream" and "gen" comes from this particle from the word genjitsu = reality. At least according to google translate (hurray for great sources) 現実 is genjitsu, and 現 - "gen" translates as "current". (Wish I could claim some knowledge of Japanese, but I don't...) Nevertheless, "gen" stands in contrast to "yume" as the reality part of this story. Because the juxtaposition of their names - the "Gen to Yume" - carries the core theme of this story, to the point that when I was writing it, the whole story used to function in my mind under this name…
> 
> And… that's the end! Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing and sharing it! I would love to hear your opinions!
> 
> The sequel, called "Gen to Yume" is already posted on ffnet and I just started to post it here - if you're interested in the developments of re-established Uchiha clan, go check it out!
> 
> The omake-chapter – "Breakfast on the Floor" is also out. It diverges from the current "Dreamt" plot in chapter 15 and deals with scenario in which Sakura doesn't go into labour immediately and the members of the Uchiha clan have some time to calmly settle down.


End file.
